this paper reports for the first time volatile compounds, anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory activities of essential oils from the leaves of waltheria indica l. (stericullaceae) growing in nigeria. the essential oil was hydro-distilled and characterized by gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (gc-fid) and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (gc-ms) analyses. the anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated on carrageenan induced rat paw edema while the anti-nociceptive test was based on hot plate model. the hydro-distillation afforded 0.41% (dry weight basis) of light green oil. forty compounds representing 99.8% were identified in the oil. the main constituents of the oil were limonene (34.7%), sabinene (21.2%) and citronellal (9.7%). the anti-nociceptive property of the essential oils statically inhibited edema development (p<0.001) at a dose of 200 and 400 mg/kg independent of time of exposure. however, the 100 mg/kg waltheria indica essential oils (wieo) displayed a relatively low inhibition (p<0.01-p>0.5) which declines as exposure time increases. the anti-inflammatory activities shows a steady rate and non-dose dependent activity (p<0.001) up to the 3rd h of inflammation study. conversely, a sharp reduction at the rate of p<0.5, 0.1 and 0.01 for the 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg wieo doses respectively. overall, the results presented sustain and establish the anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory properties and justifies the need for further evaluation and development of the essential oils from this plant.