Plectranthus vettiverodes (Jacob) Singh & Sharma (Syn. Coleus vettiveroides. Jacob) is a popular herb in Indian traditional medicine used to treat a variety of diseases. The essential oil of the aerial parts of fresh plant Plectranthus vettiveroides, grown in Kerala, India was analyzed by GC-FID, GC-MS and ¹³C-NMR spectroscopy for the first time. Thirty six compounds amounting to 85.1% of the total oil were identified. The major constituents were found to be geranyl acetate (39.0%), neryl acetate (8.8%), geraniol (7.3%) and nerol (4.5%). The essential oil composition of fourteen Plectranthus species reported from all over the world is reviewed and the composition of P. vettiveroides oil was found to be quite distinct from other Plectranthus oils in terms of the major compounds and chemical profile. The oil showed antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aerogenosa, comparable to amoxicillin and antifungal activity against Candida albicans and Penicillium notatum comparable to mycostatin.