| Summary: | Members of the genus <i>Cinnamomum</i> (Lauraceae) have aromatic volatiles in their leaves and bark and some species are commercially important herbs and spices. In this work, the essential oils from five species of <i>Cinnamomum</i> (<i>C. damhaensis</i>, <i>C. longipetiolatum</i>, <i>C. ovatum</i>, <i>C. polyadelphum</i> and <i>C. tonkinense</i>) growing wild in north central Vietnam were obtained by hydrodistillation, analyzed by gas chromatography and screened for antimicrobial and mosquito larvicidal activity. The leaf essential oil of <i>C. tonkinense</i>, rich in β-phellandrene (23.1%) and linalool (32.2%), showed excellent antimicrobial activity (MIC of 32 μg/mL against <i>Enterococcus faecalis</i> and <i>Candida albicans</i>) and larvicidal activity (24 h LC<sub>50</sub> of 17.4 μg/mL on <i>Aedes aegypti</i> and 14.1 μg/mL against <i>Culex quinquefasciatus</i>). <i>Cinnamomum polyadelphum</i> leaf essential oil also showed notable antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria and mosquito larvicidal activity, attributable to relatively high concentrations of neral (11.7%) and geranial (16.6%). Thus, members of the genus <i>Cinnamomum</i> from Vietnam have shown promise as antimicrobial agents and as potential vector control agents for mosquitoes.
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