A gas chromatography-mass spectrometric method with thermal separation injection was developed for the rapid detection of 4 fatty acid ethyl esters,i.e.palmitic acid ethyl ester,linoleic acid ethyl ester,oleic acid ethyl ester and stearic acid ethyl ester in olive oil.The target compounds were volatilized at appropriate inlet temperature,separated on a DB-5MS column,and detected in selected-ion monitoring mode.Results showed that the standard curves for 4 analytes were linear over the concentration range of 0.01-0.20 mg/L,with correlation coefficients(r2) greater than 0.999.The limits of detection(LODs) and limits of quantitation(LOQs) of the method were 0.3 mg/kg and 1.0 mg/kg,respectively.Recoveries at three levels of 1.0,2.0 and 10 mg/kg ranged from 82.4% to 109%,with relative standard deviations of 0.68%-6.8%.The method is sensitive,accurate and stable,and is suitable for the rapid detection of 4 fatty acid ethyl esters in olive oil.