The essential oil from sandalwood, grown in Indonesia was extracted by microwave-assisted hydrodistillation (MAHD) at atmospheric pressure and temperature of 100 °C for 120 min. The obtained compounds were removed from the aqueous extract by simple decantation and identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). MAHD could be a good alternative for the isolation of essential oils from sandalwood. The MAHD method offers the possibility for better reproduction of the natural aroma of the sandalwood oil than that obtained using conventional hydrodistillation. Twenty-three compounds were identified representing approximately 97% of the total detected compounds. The main compound of the oil was the oxygenated terpene santalol (52.83%). The other main compounds of the essential oil were α-bergamotol (10.18%), nuciferol (7.07%), γ-elemene (3.64%), cis-lanceol (2.74%) and α-cedrol (2.65%).