Thirty-seven monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes have been identified in the headspace of four Pseudognaphalium spp. The major compound identified was alpha-(z)-ocimene [1]: 87.0% in P. vira vira, 45.0% in P. heterotrichium, 41.0% in P. cheiranthifolium and 76.0% in P. robustum. Other major components were germacrene D [2] (6.4%) in P. vira vira, beta-phellandrene [3] (45.4% and 27.4%) in P. heterotrichium and P. cheiranthifolium, germacrene B [4](17.9%) in P. cheiranthifolium and (E)-3,7,11-trimethyl-1,6,10-dodecatriene-3-ol [5] (9.5%) in P. robustum. The insect repellent function of the mixture of volatile compounds is discussed