Abstract The chemical composition of the oils of five Elsholtzia species found in the Himalayan region of India have been determined using a combination of techniques such as SiO2 column chromatography, TLC, GC, GC/MS, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and IR. E. blanda oil was found to be rich in linalool (44.9%) and geranyl acetate (37.2%), E. fruticosa oil contained 1,8-cineole (18.0%), perillene (20.5%) and terpinen-4-ol (12.6%) while E. densa oil contained dehydroelsholtzia ketone (20.6%) and borneol (12.6%). The major component of E. incisa oil was thymol (70.6%). Two oils of E. ciliate were found to possess different compositions. One oil contained rosefuran (84.8%) as the major constituent, whereas the other oil was rich in dehydroelsholtzia ketone (65.2%).