Bursera graveolens is a wild tree of commercial importance native to the Neotropics, which has been widely used in folk medicine. In the present study, the chemical composition and anti-proliferative properties of the essential oil from B. graveolens were assayed. The chemical composition of the essential oil, determined by GC-MS, was complex and dominated by limonene (26.5%). Bursera oil inhibited the growth of MCF-7 breast tumor cells as well as amastigotes of L. amazonensis, with IC50 values of 48.9 +/- 4.3 and 36.7 +/- 4.7 microg/mL, respectively. In addition, the cytotoxicity of the oil was 103.9 +/- 7.2 microg/mL against peritoneal macrophages from BALB/c mice. These results demonstrate that the essential oil from B. graveolens is a promissory antiproliferative product.