Objective:To compare the effects of five different soil modification methods and old gin-seng soil on the changes of volatile components in the growth process of Panax ginseng and to provide a theoretical basis for cultivation methods of P.ginseng.Methods:The essential oils of P.ginseng were extracted by headspace solid phase microextraction(HS-SPME)and separated and identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC-MS).The relative content of each component was deter-mined through area normalization.Results:A total of 225 compounds were identified in the volatile constituents of P.ginseng from different soil modification methods,including 102 hydrocarbons,32 ketones,12 aldehydes,32 alcohol-phenols,9 esters,38 heterocycles and other compounds.The vola-tile components were identified under the cultivation conditions of old rhizome root,strong reduction,strong reduction-biological organic fertilizer,fumigation of bitter chloride,fumigation of bitter chlo-ride-strong reduction and fumigation of bitter chloride-biological organic fertilizer accounted for 79.632%,96.104%,86.107%,96.512%,94.355%,90.476%,respectively.And there were 20,23,16,19,27 and 32 specific components of volatile oil in six ginseng samples,respectively,and 8 com-mon components.Conclusion:There were significant differences in the content and composition of vol-atile chemical constituents in P.ginseng under six soil conditions,which provided reference for the study of soil improvement methods and further application of volatile components of P.ginseng.