On the basis of existing detailed kinetic schemes a general and consistent mechanism of the oxidation of methanol was compiled for computational studies covering a wide range of lean to rich flames. The proposed model, featuring 21 species and 115 reactions, has been validated using three data sets and the computed reactants, products and intermediates mole fractions. This scheme was compared to those by Held-Dryer, Egolfopolous and Pauwels under the same conditions. The developed mechanism predicts well the concentrations of the major reactants, intermediates, and products at all the studied equivalence ratios and it gives the best calculated values, as compared to the other used models, as well. The production rates analysis of selected species allowed the identification of the major formation and depletion pathways. A reaction path analysis snowed that the main channels in methanol consumption involved H, OH and O attack and the resulting radicals CH₂OH and CH₃O produced formaldehyde.