We have synthesized four guanidinophenyl-substituted protio enol and iodo enol lactones (3-(4-guanidinophenyl)-6-methylidenetetrahydro-2-pyranone (1), 3-(4-guanidinophenyl)-6-(E)-(iodomethylidene)tetrahydro-2-pyran one (2), 4-(4-guanidinophenyl)-6-methylidenetetrahydro-2-pyranone+ ++ (3), and 4-(4-guanidinophenyl)-6-(E)-(iodomethylidene)tetrahydro-2-pyran one (4)) and tested them for inhibitory activity against some trypsin-like enzymes, namely trypsin, urokinase, tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA), plasmin, and thrombin, as well as alpha-chymotrypsin and human neutrophil elastase (HNE). The beta-aryl-substituted protio lactone 3 was a potent alternate substrate inhibitor of trypsin and urokinase. The alpha-aryl-substituted iodo lactone 2 was a permanent inactivator of urokinase, plasmin, t-PA, thrombin, and alpha-chymotrypsin, exhibiting a relatively high specificity for the former two enzymes. In general, these compounds showed a preference for inactivating trypsin-like enzymes over alpha-chymotrypsin and HNE. Also, within the class of trypsin-like enzymes, there was generally good selectivity of inhibition.