About 100 individual organic compounds were determined in urban aerosols collected at Gent, Belgium. The compounds were identified by gas chromatography--mass spectrometry, and quantitative data were obtained by gas chromatography--flame ionization detection. Measurements of the particulate mass and of organic and elemental carbon mass were also made. Aerosol samples from a winter and a summer campaign were analyzed in order to examine seasonal differences. The major part of the extractable and elutable organic carbon in both winter and summer aerosols was found to correspond to an unresolved complex mixture that is typical for car exhaust. The prevailing resolved organic compounds in both seasons were n-alkanes and fatty acids, but the distribution patterns of individual components within each class showed seasonal differences. The n-alkane pattern for summer aerosols was clearly affected by emissions from the vegetation, while that of fatty acids revealed a lower relative abundance of unsaturated fatty acids in summer than winter that can be related to more extensive atmospheric oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids during summer. Concentrations of dicarboxylic acids and related products that are believed to be oxidation products of hydrocarbons and fatty acids were highest in summer aerosols. Some individual compounds in the latter class could only be detected in summer samples and showed the highest concentrations on hot summer days that were characterized by maximum temperatures above 25¿C and increased ozone concentrations. The latter compounds included novel, recently identified glutaric acid derivatives, namely, 3-isopropyl and 3-acetyl pentanedioic acid, likely originating from atmospheric oxidation of reactive monoterpene or sesquiterpene precursors that still need to be identified. Several compounds were found that are markers of wood combustion, including diterpenoic acids, lignin pyrolysis products, and levoglucosan. The quantitative results obtained for diterpenoic acids and lignin pyrolysis products indicated that contributions from wood combustion are more important in winter than in summer. Evidence is presented that both softwood and hardwood burning contribute to the organic aerosol, but that hardwood burning prevails during winter. Polyaromatic hydrocarbons were also more prevalent in winter than in summer.