Volatile compounds from fresh and pickled bamboo shoots were extracted using a headspace-solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME), and analysed with a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and a gas chromatography olfactometry (GC-O). Result showed that a total 68 major volatile compounds were identified in fresh and pickled bamboo shoots by GC-MS analysis; 38 volatile compounds in fresh bamboo shoots were identified. Among them, 2-pentylfuran, hexanal, benzaldehyde, 1-hexanol and (E)-2-nonadienal were the main volatile compounds. As for pickled samples, 52 major volatile compounds were identified, the main of which included ethanol, 1-hexanol, hexanal, methoxy-phenyl-oxime and acetic acid. Moreover, 17 flavor-active compounds in fresh samples were identified by GC-O analysis. Grass and astringent flavor were the key flavor-active compounds. As for pickled samples, 19 flavor-active compounds were identified by GC-O analysis. Pungent and rancid flavor were the main flavor-active compounds. The differences of flavor features between fresh and pickled bamboo shoots suggested that flavor components in fresh bamboo shoots had obviously changed after the pickling process.