The chiral complex Cu^II(L-prolinate)₂ is an efficient catalyst for the oxidation of organic substrates with environmentally friendly oxidants. Moderate turnover numbers are obtained for the oxidation of alkanes with hydrogen peroxide to deliver the corresponding alcohols and ketones. This inexpensive catalyst is also active for the oxidation of alkenes with molecular oxygen in the presence of an aldehyde as co-oxidant. This reaction shows a very high selectivity towards the epoxide (95%) with only traces of other products. No significant enantiomeric excess appears in the oxidation products of racemic substrates.