The capacity factors of several substituted anilines were measured on a beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD)-bonded column with mobile phases varying from the classical, normal-phase condition, e.g. n-heptane-2-propanol, to the classical, reversed-phase condition, e.g. water-2-propanol. Different modifiers, such as acetonitrile, methanol, and tetrahydrofuran and a Partisil PXS-ODS column were also used for comparison. In general, it was found that the beta-CD column, having the ability to form inclusion complexes with certain substrates is better and more selective in the reversed-phase separation of many aromatic compounds than the Partisil PXS-ODS column. The normal-phase separation on beta-CD was even more efficient, owing to the presence of large number of hydroxy groups on the surface of beta-CD molecules and the more rapid mass transfer in the column. In the present case, alcohols were found to be better modifiers than aprotic solvents. The effects of organic solvents on both normal-and reversed-phase separations are also discussed. The minima observed for the log k' vs. percent organic solvent plots for a number of substituted anilines are reasoned to originate from solute-solvent competition, which interacts with the stationary phase, as well as from the "relative solubility" of solutes in the stationary and mobile phases.