Crude oils in the rhizoma of fresh and dried Gastrodia elata were obtained by a simultaneous steam distillation and extraction(SDE) method using n-pentane/diethyl ether (1 : 1) as solvent, and their volatile constituents were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC/MS). A total of 39 volatile flavor constituents (11 acids, 13 alcohols, 6 hydrocarbons, 7 carbonyls, 2 esters) and 25 constituents (6 alcohols, 13 acids, 4 hydrocarbons, 1 carbonyl, ester) were identified in the fresh and dried Gastrodia elata respectively. The major volatile components of the fresh and dried sample were hexadecanoic acid(66.78%, 50.72%), 9-hexadecenoic acid(8.07%, 9.58%), heptadecanoic acid(2.01%, 0.13%), pentadecanoic acid(6.41%, 4.94%), p-cresol(1.43%, 0.52%) and cyclododecene(1.83%, 6.00%).