The synthesis of a novel compound, 3-deoxy-3-fluoro-/3-D-allopyranoside, is described. It involves blocking the 4-and 6-positions of allose to cause fluorination only at the 3-position. This six-step synthesis gave pure crystalline compound in a 5% overall yield. The crystal structure, determined by X-ray diffraction, confirmed the chemical formula and configuration of the product. It showed that the C--F bond is axial, while the C--(OH) bonds are equatorial. The overall conformation of this fluoroallose is similar to that of allose (Acta Cryst. 1984, C40, 1863 (with OH instead of F), but the packing in the two crystals is different in the region of C3, the site of chemical variation.