in this paper, the compositional pattern of essential oils from five plants in the genus litsea (lauraceae family) cultivated in vietnam, were being reported. the air-dried plant materials were hydrodistilled and the oils were analysed by gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (gc-fid) and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (gc-ms). the leaf oil of litsea helferi hook.f., was rich in limonene (17.5 %), -caryophyllene (14.2 %), bicyclogermacrene (13.1 %), bicycloelemene (12.4 %) and -phellandrene (8.0 %). the main constituents of litsea ferruginea liou., leaf oil were dominated by monoterpenes comprising of sabinene (34.5 %), -pinene (10.1 %), -terpinene (7.8 %), limonene (6.9 %) and terpinen-4-ol (6.6 %). the quantitative significant constituents of the leaf oil of litsea verticillata hance were also monoterpene compounds represented by linalool (23.4 %), -pinene (26.1%) and -pinene (11.7 %). in addition, the monoterpene hydrocarbons (e)--ocimene (57.4 %), along with -pinene (7.8 %) and -pinene (7.3 %) were the main constituents in the leaf oil of litsea glutinosa (lour.) c. b. rob. the main compounds in the leaf, stem, fruits and roots oils of litsea cubeba (lours.) pers., were (z)-citral (32.9-66.1 %), sabinene (1.4-14.2 %), limonene (7.0-13.6 %) and linalool (1.9-9.5 %). the chemical compositions of l. helferi, l. ferruginea and l. verticillata are being reported for the first time.