Abstract: Orthogonal design of 3 factors at 3 levels was applied for optimization of supercritical CO₂ fluid extraction conditions of essential oil from Lindera communis Hemsl. Constituents of the essential oil were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The optimal conditions of extraction pressure 30 MPa, extraction temperature 40 ℃ and extraction time 1 h were obtained. The sequence according to the effect of the extraction results is as follows:extraction pressure →extraction temperature →extraction time. The average oil yield obtained by supercritical CO₂ fluid extraction was 2.6% and 47 chemical components were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS ) method. While by simultaneous distiuation extraction method, the average oil yield was 0.8% and 30 chemical components were identified.