| Summary: | The present study aimed to examine the chemical composition and biological activity of essential oils extracted from <em>Euphorbia macrorrhiza</em> collected from Northwest China. The major constituents of the essential oils of aerial parts and roots of <em>E. macrorrhiza</em> are acorenone B (16.72% and 25.80%), (+)-cycloisosativene (14.94% and 12.40%), 3a-hydroxy-5b-androstane (10.62% and 5.52%), copaene (7.37% and 6.29%), l-calamenene (4.13% and 4.65%) and β-cedrene (8.40% and 7.98%), respectively. The minor components of them are thymene, γ-terpinene, thymecamphor, α-cedrene, zingiberene, trans-caryophyllene, β-chamigrene, curcumene, pentadecane, (−)-α-muurolene, cuparene, γ-cadinene, (<em>Z</em>)-3-heptadecene, 1,3,7,7-tetramethyl-2-oxabicyclo(4.4.0)dec-5-en-4-one, hexahydrofarnesyl acetone, γ-elixene and palmitinic acid. The antimicrobial and antitumor activitiy of the <em>E. macrorrhiza</em> essential oil against <em>Staphyloccocus aureus</em>, <em>Escherichia coli</em>, <em>Canidia Albicans</em> and Caco-2 cells were evaluated. Among all the tested microorganisms and Caco-2 cells, the essential oils showed the strongest inhibitory effect on <em>Staphyloccocus aureus </em>(MIC = 2.8 μg/mL) and Caco-2 cell (IC<sub>50</sub> = 11.86 μg/mL), whereas no effect on <em>Escherichia coli</em> and <em>Candida </em><em>albicans</em>. The data of this study suggested that the <em>E. macrorrhiza</em> essential oils have great potential as a natural medicine for microbial infections and cancers.
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