The experimental equipment for separating pepper oil by supercritical fluid extraction was established. The effects of the extraction pressure, extraction temperature, CO, flow rate and the particle size of the row material on the extraction rate were investigated, and the optimum process condition of the supercritical fluid extraction for pepper oil was determined. Based on the mass conservation principle for differential units of extraction bed, the numerical simulation model was established. The total of mass transfer driving force and the equilibrium absorption constant were fitted by the linear driving force approximate theory. The simulation results agreed pretty well with the experimental ones. (c) 2005 Published by Elsevier B.V.