Background: Chimonanthus nitens (family Calycanthaceae), Shanlamei in Chinese, is an unique species in China. The extract of dried leaves of Chimonanthus nitens has anti-inflammatory, antipyretic and antitussive effects. Terpenes, coumarins, and flavonoids are usually regarded as the main active components. Therefore, simultaneous determination of these compounds is very important to control the quality of Chimonanthus nitens.Results: A double-development TLC method was developed for simultaneous analysis of five compounds in Chimonanthus nitens. The chromatography was performed on silica gel 60 plate with chloroform-methanol (9:1, v/v) and petroleum ether-ethyl acetate (10:1, v/v) as mobile phase for twice development. Their characteristic TLC profiles were observed under UV light at 365 nm and the bands were then revealed by reaction with 1% vanillin-H SO solution. Quantification of three monoterpenes was achieved by densitometry at 545 nm (β-caryophyllene) or 606 nm (cineole and linalool). Two coumarins (scopoletin and scoparone) were determined by densitometry at 340 nm with filter wavelength of 370 nm. The investigated compounds had good linearity (R >0.99) within test ranges.Conclusions: The developed double-development TLC method is helpful to control the quality of Chimonanthus nitens, which is simple and accurate. © 2012 Zhou et al.; licensee Chemistry Central Ltd.