We identified and characterized a novel halohydrin dehalogenase HHDH-PL from Parvibaculum lavamentivorans DS-1. Study of substrate specificity indicated that HHDH-PL possessed a high activity toward ethyl (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate ((S)-CHBE). After optimizations of the pH and temperature, whole cell catalysis of HHDH-PL was applied to the synthesis of ethyl (R)-4-cyano-3-hydroxybutyrate (HN) at 200 g L⁻¹ of (S)-CHBE, which gave 95% conversion and 85% yield in 14 h.