OBJECTIVE： To compare the effects of two extraction methods of volatile oil from A. argyi. METHODS： With the yield rate of volatile oil and the content of eucalyptol in the volatile oil as the observed indexes， using the A. argyi grown in different places （Tangyin， Henan； Huoshan， Anhui； Qichun， Hubei； picked during May and June） and the A. argyi picked on different dates （in May， June， July and August） in Qichun， Hubei. Steam distillation and supercritical CO2 extraction method were compared with respect to the effect of extraction of volatile oil from A. argyi. RESULTS： Compared to steam distillation， the yield rate of volatile oil obtained by supercritical CO2 extraction method was higher， but the contents of eucalyptol obtained by the two methods were similar. Among all samples processed by the two methods， the A. argyi picked in Qichun， Hubei in June had the highest yield rates of volatile oil （0.585％ and 2.42％） and contents of eucalyptol （0.591 and 0.548 mg/g）. CONCLUSIONS： It is suggested that the yield rate， the content of active ingredient， corresponding extraction procedures， industrial cost and other factors should be considered when choosing a more suitable extraction method from the two methods mentioned above to extract the volatile oil from traditional Chinese medicinal materials.