By experiment we investigated the process of extraction of ginsenosides using ultrahigh pressure extraction technique (UPET). First, the influences of different solvents, solvent (ethanol) concentration (v/v), ratio of ginseng mass to solution volume (m/v), pressure (MPa) and extraction time (min) on UPET process were individually investigated by mono-factor experiments. Then the optimum extraction condition was obtained by uniform design and validated by parallel tests. Experiments on different extraction techniques were also conducted. Results show that, comparing with other extraction techniques, such as reflux, ultrasonic, and supercritical CO2, UPET possesses several advantages, such as higher extraction yield. less extraction time, lower energy consumption and less impurity in extraction liquid. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.