Abstract The chemical composition of the oil of Ziziphus spina-christi (L.) Willd. leaves obtained by hydrodistillation were examined by capillary GC and GC/MS. Thirty-four components were characterized, representing 92.2% of the oil. The main components in the oil were geranyl acetone (14.0%), methyl hexadecanoate (10.0%), methyl octadecanoate (9.9%), farnesyl acetone C (9.9%), hexadecanol (9.7%) and ediyl octadecanoate (8.0%).