Abstract: The study focused on the mechanism of flavor formation during salted spanish mackerel processing. Electronic nose and solid phase micro-extraction(SPME)coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC-MS)were used to identify the changes of flavor composition of fresh fish,pickled and dried 4,10,24,36,48 h 7 different stages. The results showed that,flavor characteristics changed obviously in salting and drying stages.The total species of volatile flavor compounds in 7 stage were 27,37,53,42,47,45 and 51,respectively. The relative content of trimethylamine,2-butoxy-ethanol,hexanal,1-penten-3-ol,nonanal,octanal,heptanal and 3-methyl-butanal were 11.05%,7.21%,6.65%,6.35%,5.69%,4.56%,3.52% and 3.37%,respectively. Pickling and drying were the main processing stages of flavor production. And the major volatile compounds of salted spanish mackerel were aldehydes,alcohos,ketones,and alkanes,including hexanal,nonanal,octanal,heptanal,(Z)-4-heptenal,benzaldehyde,1-Penten-3-ol,1-Octen-3-ol. Therefore,the flavor of salted spanish mackerel could be improved by controlling the conditions of salting and drying.