The chemical composition of volatile compounds from pericarp oils of Indian sandalwood, Santalum album L., isolated by hydrodistillation and solvent extraction, were analyzed by GC and GC-MS. The pericarps yielded 2.6 and 5.0% volatile oil by hydrodistillation and n-hexane extraction, and they were colorless and yellow in color, respectively. A total of 66 volatile components were detected. The most prominent compounds were palmitic and oleic acids, representing about 40-70% of the total oil. Many fragrant constituents and biologically active components, such as alpha- and beta-santalol, cedrol, esters, aldehydes, phytosterols, and squalene were present in the pericarp oils. This is the first report of the volatile composition of the pericarps of any Santalum species.