OBJECTIVE： To investigate the improvement effects of volatile oil from the fruit of Alpinia oxyphylla on scopolamine-induced learning and memory impairment in mice. METHODS： 50 male Kunming mice were randomly divided normal group， model group， positive drug group （donepezil hydrochloride， 3 mg/kg） and volatile oil from the fruit of A. oxyphylla low-dose and high-dose groups （0.5， 1 mL/kg）， with 10 mice in each group. Except control group and model group were given equivalent water intragastrically， other groups were given relevant medicine intragastrically for consecutive 27 days. Since the 22nd day of administration， except normal group was given equivalent normal saline， other groups were given Scopolamine hydrobromide solution （3 mg/kg） intraperitoneally for consecutive 6 days. After last medication， Morris water maze test was used to investigate the praxiology of mice. HE staining was used to observe the morphology of neurons in CA1 area of hippocampus in mice. The activities of AChE and ChAT in hippocampus were detected in mice. The activities of SOD and GSH-Px， the content of MDA in hippocampus and serum were also detected. RESULTS： Compared with model group， the escape latencies of mice were shortened significantly in positive drug group and volatile oil from the fruit of A. oxyphylla high-dose group since second and third day， respectively； retention time and distance percentage in the third quadrant， the frequency of crossing platform were prolonged or increased significantly， while the time of initial crossing platform was shortened significantly （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. The neurons in the CA1 area of the hippocampus were arranged orderly， with regular cell shape； the degree of nuclear hyperchromasia was reduced. The activities of ChAT， SOD and GSH-Px in hippocampus， the activities of SOD and GSH-Px in serum were increased significantly； the activity of AChE in hippocampus was decreased significantly； while MDA contents in hippocampus and serum were decreased significantly （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. There was improvement to some extent but without statistical significance in above indexes of volatile oil from the fruit of A. oxyphylla low-dose group （P＞0.05）. CONCLUSIONS： The volatile oil from the fruit of A. oxyphylla can ameliorate scopolamine-induced learning and memory impairment by enhancing the function of cholinergic neurons through regulating the activities of AChE and ChAT and resisting oxidation.