The structure of the complex of beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) with 1,12-dodecanediol has been determined at 173 K and refined to a final R=0.0615 based on 22,386 independent reflections. The complex crystallizes in the triclinic space group P1; with a=17.926(4), b=15.399(3), c=15.416(3) A, alpha=103.425(4), beta=113.404(4), gamma=98.858(4) degrees, D(c)=1.362 Mg cm(-3) and V=3651.4(13) A(3) for Z=1. One molecule of the diol is located as a guest in the hydrophobic cavity of a beta-CD-dimer, forming a [3]pseudorotaxane. The guest molecule shows a disorder over two positions. The hydroxyl groups of the diol emerge from the primary faces of the beta-CD dimer and form several hydrogen bonds with water molecules lying in the interstitial space, similarly to dimeric complexes of beta-CD with other alpha,omega-bifunctional guests.