The collision happened at around 25 past 7 this morning when his car collided with an articulated lorry.
The road is closed between Midleton and Castlemartyr to allow a technical examination of the scene and local diversions are in place.
The man in his early 20's was killed on the N25 in the townland of Ballyedekin, when the car he was driving collided with an articulated lorry .
He was pronounced dead at the scene, and his body taken to the mortuary at Cork University Hospital.
Gardaí are appealing for witnesses, and those with dash-cam footage, to contact them.
He is the second person to be killed on the roads in East Cork in less than a week
A man in his 40's died after a road crash at Water Rock in the early hours of Sunday morning
Six people have been killed on Cork roads so far this year
