Abstract The chemical composition of the essential oils of Myrcianthes osteomeloides and M. pseudomato was studied by GC and GC/MS. Myrcianthes osteomeloides oil contained 1,8-cineole (55.7%) as the major component followed by α-pinene (17.9%), α-terpineol (8.5%) and β-pinene (4.6%). We identified 1,8-cineole (24.4%), α-pinene (17.1%), linalool (11.7%), limonene (8.5%) and γ-terpinene (7.3%) as main constituents in M. pseudomato oil.