| Summary: | <i>Curcuma</i> species have been cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions in Asia, Australia, and South America for culinary as well as medicinal applications. The biological activities of <i>Curcuma</i> have been attributed to the non-volatile curcuminoids as well as to volatile terpenoids. <i>Curcuma</i> essential oils have demonstrated a wide variety of pharmacological properties. The objective of this work was to examine the variation in the compositions of <i>Curcuma</i> rhizome essential oils. In this work, the volatile oils from <i>C. longa</i> and <i>C. zedoaria</i> were obtained and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The chemical compositions of <i>C. longa</i> and <i>C. zedoaria</i> essential oils, including those reported in the literature, were analyzed by hierarchical cluster analysis. In addition, cluster analyses of the chemical compositions of <i>C. aromatica</i> and <i>C. aeruginosa</i> from the literature were also carried out. <i>Curcuma longa</i> volatiles were dominated by α-turmerone, curlone, <i>ar</i>-turmerone, β-sesquiphellandrene, α-zingiberene, germacrone, terpinolene, <i>ar</i>-curcumene, and α-phellandrene and showed four distinct chemical clusters. <i>C. zedoaria</i> rhizome oil contained 1,8-cineole, curzerenone/<i>epi</i>-curzerenone, α-copaene, camphor, β-caryophyllene, elemol, germacrone, curzerene, and β-elemene and showed two different chemical types. <i>C. aromatica</i> had three clearly defined clusters, and <i>C. aeruginosa</i> had three types.
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