Ocotea is a genus that belong to Lauraceae family, which has about 56 species, distributed in Asia, Africa and mainly in America. The aim of this work was to identify the chemical composition of the essential oil from leaves of Ocotea caudata collected from Colombia. The chemical composition of the oil was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), being described for the first time. Thirty nine compounds (corresponding to 92.7% of the oil) were identified. The major constituents were germacrene D (55.8%), bicyclogermacrene (8.0%), β-caryophyllene (4.6%) and β-bourbonene (2.3%). Also the antibacterial activity of the oil was evaluated against two Gram (+) and two Gram (-) bacteria showing that the oil exhibited moderated activity against Gram (+) bacteria.Ocotea es un género perteneciente a la familia Lauraceae, que contiene cerca de 56 especies, distribuidas en Asia, Africa y principalmente América. El objetivo de este trabajo fue identificar la composición química del aceite esencial de las hojas de Ocotea caudata colectadas en Colombia. La composición química del aceite fue determinada por cromatografía de gases–espectrometría de masas (GC-MS), siendo descrita por primera vez. Se identificaron treinta y nueve compuestos (correspondientes al 92.7% del aceite). Los componentes mayoritarios fueron germacreno D (55.8%), biciclogermacreno (8.0%), β-cariofileno (4.6%) y β-bourboneno (2.3%). También se evaluó la actividad antibacteriana del aceite frente a dos bacterias Gram (+) y dos Gram (-) encontrándose que el aceite presentó moderada actividad contra las bacterias Gram (+).