To compare the differences of five methods for extracting ginger volatile oil.Ginger volatile oil was extracted by five methods:steam distillation (SD),enzymatic hydrolysis-assisted steam distillation (EHSD),ultrasonic-assisted steam distillation (UASD),microwave-assisted steam distillation (MASD) and squeezing (SQ),and its chemical compositions were analyzed by GC-MS.R language platform was used for principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster heatmap analysis to compare the differences in their component characteristics.The structural differences of the obtained ginger dregs were observed by microscope.The oil yields of steam distillation,enzymatic hydrolysis-assisted steam distillation,ultrasonic-assisted steam distillation and microwave-assisted steam distillation were 0.18%,0.19%,0.21% and 0.18%,respectively.GC-MS analysis showed that the volatile oil obtained was similar in composition,59-65 compounds were identified.The oil yield of squeezing was 0.10%,three  compounds were identified,namely α-zingerene,β-phellandrene and 6-shogaol.Microscopic observation showed that the number of oil cells in per unit area of the dregs obtained by the four distillation methods was less than that of the squeezing method.The volatile components of ginger may be affected by enzyme,ultrasound and microwave,therefore,the chemical composition and relative peak area of volatile oils obtained by different extraction methods had characteristic differences.Squeezing can easily and quickly extract α-zingiberene,β-sesquiphellandrene and 6-shogaol in ginger.Our research may provide some reference for the selection of the extraction method of ginger volatile oil in practical application and the further development and utilization of ginger.