Pummelo (Citrus maxima) is one of the major native species of citrus, of which the skin peel contains a rich amount of essential oil (EO) in its flavedo part. EO could be extracted by using cold pressing, water distillation, simultaneously distillation and extraction (SDE), solvent-assisted fluid extraction (SAFE), and super critical fluid extraction of carbon dioxide (SFE-CO₂). Among these extraction methods, EO, prepared by the cold pressing, possesses the best aroma close to the natural pummelo aroma. Sensory evaluation, gas chromatograph (GC), GC-mass spectrometer (MS), GC-olfactory (O), and electronic nose have been used to analyze the pummelo EO. Albeit high resolution mass spectrometer and time of flight mass spectrometry have not been applied yet. Pummelo EO is mainly composed of terpenes and terpenoids, plus a small amount of aldehydes, alcohols, and esters. Particularly, the beta-myrcene content in the pummelo EO is higher than that in other citrus EOs. In addition, EO from different pummelo species has different aromatic profiles. The aroma profile of GuanXi pummelo EO is dominated by green, lemon,and fruit notes while LiangPing pummelo EO has a strong aroma of citrus and sweet note. Meanwhile, Shatian pummelo EO has a strong minty note. It is known that environmental factors, including sunlight, storage temperature, and oxygen have significant effects on the composition of EO and remarkable impact on its aroma profile. In particular, UV-irradiation is the major factor causing the irreversible deterioration to the pummelo quality. Pummelo EO has shown many valuable applications in pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetics industries. Thus, pummelo EO is worthy to be studied in more depth.