Abstract: OBJECTIVE To develop methods for identification and determination of β-elemene in volatile oil of fresh Sarcandra glabra (Thunb.) Nakai by TLC and HPLC. METHODS N-hexane was used as developing agent in TLC identification. The HPLC was carried out with a Waters Alliance, Model 2695, equipped with an Waters 5C₁₈-AR-Ⅱ column(4.6 mm×250 mm, 5 μm). It was eluted gradiently at 30 ℃ with a mixture of methanol-acetonitrile-water at flow-rate 1 mL·min^-1, and detection wavelength was set at 210 nm. RESULTS The same prunosus spots appeared at the corresponding place in the sample and β-elemene TLC. The relationship of β-elemene injection amount and peak area was linear (r=0.999 9) over the range of 0.221-52.214 8 μg. The RSD of accurate experiment was 1.89%. The average recovery was 98.49%( RSD 1.02%, n=6). CONCLUTION The method could be used for quality control of the volatile oil of fresh Sarcandra glabra (Thunb.) Nakai.