轴手性是手性的一种特殊情形。一般情况下，有机分子的手性是由于手性中心而产生的，但在轴手性的情况下，分子内没有手性中心而是有一根手性轴。多个基团围绕轴排布，其排布方式使得分子无法与其镜像重合。轴手性最常见于旋转受限的不对称联芳环（如联苯）类化合物中，如 1,1'-联(2-萘酚)。 一些丙二烯类化合物也会显示出轴手性。轴手性化合物的对映异构体通常用立体化学的标记 R_a 与 S_a.表示。具体规则与含有手性中心的化合物类似。在确定立体化学的具体字母时，视线从手性轴的一端沿手性轴的方向观察，定出两个靠近观察者的基团和两个远离观察者的集团，再依照串行法则比较各基团的大小。下面给出了一些例子。

Axial chirality is a special case of chirality in which a molecule does not possess a stereogenic center (the most common form of chirality in organic compounds) but an axis of chirality – an axis about which a set of substituents is held in a spatial arrangement that is not superposable on its mirror image. Axial chirality is most commonly observed in atropisomeric biaryl compounds wherein the rotation about the aryl-aryl bond is restricted, for example, biphenyl, binaphthyls, e.g., 1,1'-bi-2-naphthol, and certain dihydroanthracenone compounds. Certain allene compounds and spirans also display axial chirality. The enantiomers of axially chiral compounds are usually given the stereochemical labels R_a and S_a. The designations are based on the same Cahn-Ingold-Prelog priority rules used for tetrahedral stereocenters. The chiral axis is viewed end-on and the two "near" and two "far" substituents on the axial unit are ranked.