To explore the impact of growth environment and harvest time of Forsythiae Fructus, systematic evaluation was studied on the essential oil of Forsythiae Fructus from main productive regions of China.This study analyzed the essential oil components in green Forsythiae Fructus (GF) and ripe Forsythiae Fructus (RF) from different producing areas with GC-MS technology and provided reference for the resource utilization of Forsythia suspensa.A total of 54 compounds were identified, of which 12 were common compounds, and the two most abundant components were alkenes and alcohols with a great variety of structures.The quality evaluation based on principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the comprehensive evaluation scores of Hubei Wuhan RF, Shaanxi Luonan RF, and Anhui Lu′an RF were relatively high;PCA and cluster analysis (CA) were able to distinguish GF and RF in the samples.It also showed that the harvest period and regional environment affected the composition of the essential oil of Forsythiae Fructus.From the perspective of essential oil composition, priority should be given to the development and utilization of RF.It is feasible to apply the characteristics of essential oil as the chemotaxonomic markers for the harvest periods and regional environment of Forsythiae Fructus.