Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the two major types of leadership, i.e transactional and transformational, and organizational learning at public and private universities in Syria. It further aims at exploring the role of transactional and transformational leadership in enhancing organizational learning at Syrian universities. Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative research paradigm was employed. Using a questionnaire survey method, the data were collected from employees at two major public and private Syrian universities. In total, 216 questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS. Findings: The findings revealed that there is a significant impact of contingent reward, as a transactional leadership dimension on organizational learning, and a significant impact of inspirational motivation as a transformational leadership dimension on organizational learning. The study also found no significant differences in leadership styles and organizational learning between both universities. Practical implications: This study will help university leaders in Syria in adopting leadership styles that are suitable to reinforce organizational learning in their institutions. Originality/value: The study advances western research that is linking leadership styles and organizational learning by focussing on the Arab world context, particularly the Syrian context.