Abstract The essential oil of Plectranthus melissoides Benth. collected from wild plants growing in Uttaranchal State in India was investigated for its chemical composition by GC and GC/MS. Fifty-four components of the oil, representing 99.3% of the oil were identified. The oil was found to contain mostly monoterpene hydrocarbons and oxygenated monoterpenes. The main components of the oil were p-cymene (17.4%), Î²-terpinene (10.1%), methyl thymol (3.0%), thymol (7.9%), carvacrol (41.3%) and carvacrol acetate (4.6%).