Abstract Potentilla grandiflora L. (Rosaceae) is a widely distributed species occurring in many important Western Alpine pastures exploited in typical niche cheese production system. This paper reports the results of an experiment that aimed to characterize the essential oil composition of P. grandiflora in order to find potential chemical markers for traceability of dairy products. GC-FID and GC/MS analyses of the oils obtained by steam distillation of fresh plant material allowed the detection of 55 compounds, totaling 114.16 µg/g fresh weight. This amount was comparable to other species occurring in Alpine pastures, for example Alchemilla alpina. Alcohols, aldehydes and terpenes were the most abundant chemical classes. α-terpineol was the most abundant compound with the amount of 23.2 µg/g fresh weight and 20.3% of essential oil. Thus, volatile composition of P. grandiflora might contribute to the characterization of Alpine pastures VOCs profile, and many compounds occurring in its essential oil could be directly transferred from vegetation to milk, assuming the role of plant biomarkers of derived dairy products.