Aroma volatiles of mango (Mangifera indica L.) determine consumer acceptability and influence selection, whilst breeding. To assess their variety, composition and possible impact on cultivar relationships, volatile blends of 22 Indian and five non-Indian cultivars were investigated using solvent extraction and gas chromatography. Totally 84 volatiles belonging to various chemical classes were detected. Based on the Cumulative Occurrence of members of these classes, cultivars were grouped as monoterpene or sesquiterpene dominant. a-Pinene, beta-myrcene and beta-caryophyllene were found in all 27 cultivars. For ordination, common compounds with high (relative) concentration provided quantitative characters, whereas the rare and lesser ones provided qualitative (binary) characters; non-Indian cultivars separated from Indian ones but displayed close relations within their groups. In conclusion, mango flavour is dominated qualitatively as well as quantitatively by terpene hydrocarbons; ancient selection of mango cultivars is hinted to be driven by different aroma characters in different parts of the world. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.