Very little has been published on the essential oil composition of Ruta graveolens worldwide. Herein, we report on theessential oil composition of Ruta graveolens growing in Jordan. The essential oil was isolated using hydrodistillation fromthe aerial parts of Ruta graveolens L and a chemical composition analysis was conducted using Gas Chromatography/MassSpectrometry (GC-MS). The antibacterial activity was evaluated using a disc diffusion method. Thirty components,accounting for 98.1% of the oil, were identified. Ketones (43.02%), aldehydes (37.12%), esters (9.33%) and sesquiterpenehydrocarbons (5.22%), were the major constituents. The major compounds identified were 2-nonanone (37.13%),undecanal (34.69%), 2-acetoxydodecane (5.0%), and 2-decanone (3.31%). The essential oil of Ruta graveolens showed agood antibacterial activity against all the tested bacterial isolates. The oil proved to be more effective on Gram-positivethan Gram-negative bacterial species.