The H-1 NMR chemical shifts of alcohol + hydrocarbon systems over the whole concentration range at 298.15 K were measured. Based on the concept of local composition (LC), the concentration-dependent H-1 NMR chemical shift data of the OH and CH groups for 13 alcohol+hydrocarbon systems were correlated with only one energy parameter, respectively. Using the parameters obtained from the spectra alone, the isothermal and isobaric vapor-liquid equilibria (VLE) data of the above-mentioned alcohol+hydrocarbon systems were predicted with satisfactory results. By this way, the spectroscopic information can be used to predict VLE data of alcohol+hydrocarbon systems directly. Crown Copyright (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.