The work aims to evaluate the volatile odour substances in adhesives used to paper packaging materials and their effects. Three adhesive samples were sniffed by ten sensory evaluators to assess odour intensity. The method of headspace-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-GC-MS) was applied to collect data on volatile substances. MS-DIAL deconvolution, NIST mass library and retention index were used to conduct qualitative analysis on the substances. The relative content of peaks and the relative odour activity value (ROAV) were calculated to determine key odour substances and their impacts. The results showed that the three adhesive samples had distinctive sensory effects. A total of 45 volatile compounds were detected, mainly including esters, alcohols, ketones and aromatic hydrocarbons substances. Eight key odour substances, for instance butyl propionate, butyl acetate, 3-methyl-4-heptanone and ethylbenzene, were determined, which mostly contributed to the odour of adhesive samples. The odour intensity from adhesive samples mainly originates from the complex chemical components, which should be paid with great attention during their production and processing.