Abstract The chemical composition of the leaf oils obtained by hydrodistillation of eight Eugenia species, collected in southern Brazil, was analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Eugenia speciosa oil is characterized by large amounts of monoterpene hydrocarbons with α-pinene (47.3%) and limonene (23.0%) as major constituents, while E. cuprea oil is composed of 78.6% sesquiterpenes. Spathulenol (12.1%) was the major component, followed by β-caryophyllene (9.2%) and caryophyllene oxide (8.7%). Eugenia arenosa was dominated by the acyclic sesquiterpene, farnesyl acetate (70.4%) and aromadendrene (11.7%). Eugenia brasiliensis, E. multicostata, E. sulcata and E. xiriricana oils possessed very similar chemical compositions. In the monoterpene fraction, α- and β-pinene were the major components (a total of 40.7%, 23.4%, 35.9% and 21.9%, respectively), while for E. pitanga (E)-β-ocimene (10.5%) was the major component. For the sesquiterpene fraction, spathulenol and globulol were the major components (a total of 10.5%, 19.4%, 18.8% and 24.0%, respectively). In contrast, the oil of E. pitanga was characterized in this fraction by germacrene D and bicyclogermacrene (29.3% and 22.4%, respectively).