Abstract Essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation from the leaves of Eugenia rottleriana was analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Twenty-eight compounds constituting 99.1% of the analyzed sample were identified. The oil was characterized by the predominance of monoterpenes (61.2%) with limonene (50.3%) as the major constituent. Î±âHumulene (13.3 %), Î²âcaryophyllene (8.8%) and linalool (3.2%) were the other major components. The oil displayed significant antibacterial activity when tested against Bacillus cereus and moderate activity against Serratia marcescens and Escherichia coli.