A continuous observation campaign was carried out with the GC5000 volatile organics online monitoring system and the EMS system for one month in November 2011 in the northern suburb of Nanjing, and 56 VOC components and reactive gases (NO(x), CO and O3) were measured. The results showed that the VOC hourly averaged volume fraction in Nanjing northern suburb was about 48.17 x 10(-9), and the minimum value of VOCs occurred at 16:00. The diurnal variation showed a bimodal characteristic, indicating the significant impact of motor vehicle emission. The VOC concentration and O3 concentration exhibited negative correlation in the daytime. The average OH consumption rate of VOCs was approximately 3.26 x 10(-12) cm3 x (molecule x s)(-1), and the largest incremental reactivity was about 3.26 mol x mol(-1); Alkenes contributed the largest-parts of the OH consumption rate (L(OH)) and the ozone formation potential (OFP), followed by aromatics. Although alkanes were the most abundant components of VOCs in the atmosphere, it is not the main contributor of L(OH) and OFP. The key active components in VOCs were ethylene, propylene, 1-butene, m,p-xylene and isoprene, etc. The dominant factor of ozone formation was VOCs in this observation.