Abstract: Vinegar aroma plays an important part in its quality and consumer preference. The sufficient analysis of vinegar aroma will help guide vinegar processing and further improve its flavor quality. Effective extracting, analyzing and identifying the volatile compounds in various vinegars are critical steps to analyze the aroma characteristics. In this paper, the key aroma substances and their contribution to the aroma in traditional Chinese vinegar, the commonly used extractive techniques as well as the analytical and identifying methods for the aroma substances were summarized, aiming to provide a theoretical basis for in-depth aroma study and high-quality new product development of the traditional Chinese vinegar.