OBJECTIV E To study composition an d content changes of volatile components during the bleaching process of Atractylodis macrocephala with the water of washing rice. METHODS The raw products of A. macrocephala and bleached products of 5 different bleaching stages were prepared （in the first and second stages ，raw products were bleached with 9-fold volumn of the water of washing rice for 12 h and 24 h，respectively；in the third ，fourth and fifth stages ，the raw products were firstly bleached with 9-fold volumn of the water of washing rice for 24 h，and then bleached with 9-fold volumn of clean water for 12，24 and 48 h，respectively）；the bleaching temperature was set at 26 ℃. The volatile components of raw products of A. macrocephala and its bleached products of 5 different bleaching stages were qualitatively analyzed by using headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The relative percentage of each component was calculated by peak area normalization method. RESULTS A total of 49 volatile components were identified from raw products of A. macrocephala and its bleached products of 5 different bleaching stages，including 20 common volatile components such as terpinolene ，cyperene and atractylon ，etc. Among them ，33，31，28， 30，28 and 29 volatile components were identified from the raw products of A. macrocephala and the bleached products of the first to fifth stages ，the relative percentages of which were 66.218％ ，64.711％ ，79.410％ ，65.419％ ，67.101％ ，66.818％ ， respectively；among them ，the relative percentage of atractylon in bleached products was the highest in the fourth stage （41.206％），but was the lowest in the third stage （35.926％）. Compared with the raw product ，16 volatile components such as pethylbrene and β-vetivenen were added in the bleaching process ，while 8 volatile components such as ethyl palmitate and β-maaliene were not detected. However ，5 volatile components including 11-rotundene and （－）-valeranone in the bleaching process showed a trend of disappearance-emergence and disappearance-emergence-disappearance. CONCLUSIONS In the third stage，the total relative percentage of each volatile component and the relative percentage of representative dry component as ， atractylone are the lowest in bleached products of A. ； macrocephala，i.e. the bleaching technology of relieving the dry property of A. macrocephala e with the water of washing rice is bleaching with 9-fold volumn of the water of washing rice for 24 h，and then bleaching with 9-fold volumn of clean water for 12 h.