To investigate the active components and mechanisms of Sparassis latifolia extracts (SLE) in inhibiting melanogenesis, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and network pharmacology were employed for detection and analysis. Cell experiments in vitro showed that SLE had no significant effect on cell viability of murine melanoma B16F10 cells but significantly inhibited melanogenesis. Total of 41 main components of SLE were identified using GC-MS. 576 targets of SLE components and 2 692 targets related to melanogenesis, with 198 common targets were obtained using TCMSP, PubChem, and GeneCards database. The protein-protein interaction network was constructed using the STRING database and Cytoscape software, and 100 key targets were screened out. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were performed using DAVID database, obtaining 460 GO items such as protein binding and cytoplasm, and 161 KEGG pathways such as phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase-serine/threonine kinase (PI3K-AKT) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways. The "component-target-pathway" network diagram was constructed, and key components as well as core targets were screened. Molecular docking was performed using AutoDock software, and the results demonstrated strong binding affinity between the key components and core targets. In summary, SLE significantly inhibits melanin production, and its mechanism may involve the regulation of multiple core targets in signaling pathways such as PI3K-AKT and MAPK by key components such as linoleic acid and nicotinamide, providing a theoretical basis for further mechanistic studies.