Abstract The antioxidant activity of the essential oil from Oxytropis falcate Bunge was determined spectrophotometrically using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl free radical (DPPH) while the oil was analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The oil exhibited an IC50 value at 0.17 mg/mL. Analysis revealed that 50 compounds were identified, consisting 89.0% of the total oil. Viridiflorol (11.5%), (E)-nerolidol (8.2%), ethyl hexadecanoate (6.5%), tricosane (5.6%) and spathulenol (5.4%) were the major components of the oil.