Abstract: cordata Thunb growing in Guangdong province. The chemical constituents of the essential oil from this plant were examined by means of gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometric technique combined with systematic separation and thin layer chromatography. As a result of the analyses, ten components were identified: four monoterpenes-α-pinene, camphene, myrcene and d-limonene; two oxygenated monoterpenes-linalool and bornyl acetate; one sesquiterpene-caryophyllene and three aldehydeketone compounds-2-undecanone, decanoyl acetaldehyde and dodecanaldehyde. The results indicate that the composition of the essential oil from Houttuynia cordata growing in China is apparently different from that in Japan.