Abstract: The wild pepper is mainly produced in China, and its variety, habitat and extraction method all have important influence on the chemical composition and content in zanthoxylum oil. Essential oil was extracted by a Soxhlet extractor from Zanthoxylu bungeanum Maxim produced in Dezhou of Shandong. The antimicrobial effect was studied and the volatile compounds of the extracted oil were also analyzed by GC-MS. Essential oils extracted by different solvents showed significant differences in color, odor, state and antimicrobial effect. The essential oil extracted by ether exhibited the most significant antimicrobial activity to seven kinds of tested microorganisms. At the 80% similarity level, GC- MS analysis showed that 45 and 63 kinds of volatile compounds were detected in essential oil extracted by ether and petroleum ether, respectively, and the ketone compounds were the main constitutes. It was worth mentioning that large amount of 1- (2- hydroxy- 4,6 - methoxy phenyl) ethyl ketone was detected in both essential oil extracted by ether and petroleum ether, which had not been described in published documents. As the important functional component of wild pepper, essential oil could play an important part in food flavor and bacteriostasis.