Abstract The composition and the antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of Luma chequen from Peru were investigated. Essential oil was analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The oil was characterized by the presence of small amounts of sesquiterpenes (3.1%), and large amounts of monoterpenes (90.1%), of which Î±-pinene (57.1%), 1,8-cineole (12.1%) and linalool (5.5%) were the major compounds. The oil showed significant antimicrobial activity against Proteus vulgaris, Cryptococcus neoformans and Cladosporium cladosporioides, with MIC values ranging from 0.45 to 1.67 Î¼L/mL.