OBJECTIVE To study the extraction method, quality, transdermal permeability, and transdermal promoting effects of Chuanxiong Rhizoma Hort. volatile oil (LVO) and Angelicase Sinensis Radix volatile oil (AVO) combined with the characteristic advantages of “unification of drugs and excipients” of traditional Chinese medicine volatile oil. METHODS The orthogonal design was used to screen and optimize extraction process of LVO and AVO. Quality control was carried out by detecting the physical parameters and indicator component content of LVO and AVO. Franz diffusion cells were used to conduct the studies of skin permeation in vitro. The contents of ligustilide and resveratrol(RSV) were determined by HPLC, and the steady-state transdermal rate(Jss) and enhancement factor (EF) compared with blank were used as evaluation indicators. And the transdermal permeability and transdermal promoting effects of different concentrations of LVO, AVO and mixed were investigated respectively. RESULTS The extraction process for LVO and AVO involves 8 times the amount of water, heating and refluxing for 8 h, collecting with ethyl acetate, dehydrating anhydrous sodium sulfate, and then volatilizing under reduced pressure. Perfect quality control methods were established for LVO and AVO, including the properties, relative density, pH, optical rotation, viscosity and ligustilide content. LVO and AVO have good permeability and promote RSV transdermal effect in vitro, and the maximum Jss values within 10 h were (48.23±6.53) and (27.84±3.03), respectively, and the maximum EF values were 4.51 and 19.34, respectively. CONCLUSION LVO and AVO have good transdermal permeability and transdermal promoting effects of RSV when used alone or in combination. The transdermal permeability of LVO was significantly higher than that of AVO, while the transdermal promoting effects of AVO was higher than that of LVO. The combination of LVO and AVO's own pharmacological effects and good transdermal absorption promoting effect plays a role of “unification of drugs and excipients”, which has a good advantage in clinical use, and lays a foundation for their development and application in transdermal drug delivery preparations of traditional Chinese medicine.