Abstract The composition of the essential oils from aerial parts of three Salvia species: S. rhytidea Benth., S. limbata C. A. Mey. and S. palaestina Benth. have been analyzed by a combination of GC and GC/MS. During the fowering period, two oils (S. rhytidea and S. limbata) consisted mainly of monoterpenes, while in S. palaestina oil sesquiterpenes predominated over monoterpenes. The major components of the oil of S. rhytidea were β-phellandrene (22.7%) and sabinene (13.5%). In the oil of S. limbata, α-pinene (23.7%), β-pinene (18.7%) and sabinene (14.5%) were found to be the major constituents. β-Caryophyllene (36.4%) was the predominant compound in the oil of S. palaestina.