To investigate in vitro nematicidal activity against the pine wood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, plant methanolic extracts were obtained from 26 medicinal plants and herbs in Vietnam. Of the plant extracts tested, a 10 mg ml−1 concentration of Cinnamomum cassia bark extract showed the highest level of nematicidal activity against juvenile and adult B. xylophilus after treatment for 7 h. The remainder of the plant extracts had little or no effect on juveniles or adults. Four solvents, n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and n-butanol, were used initially to partition the compounds obtained from C. cassia extracts. The compound (5 mg ml−1) in the n-hexane fraction showed the highest nematicidal activity at 60 min after treatment. Compounds III and IV were then separated from the n-hexane fraction using silica gel plates. These compounds showed very similar activity against the pine wood nematode. However, treatment with different concentrations of these compounds resulted in a significant difference in their effects on the mortality of the pine wood nematode, with greater concentrations leading to increased mortality after the same exposure time. Overall, treatment with 3 mg ml−1 of compounds III and IV resulted in greater than 95% mortality against juvenile and adult B. xylophilus at 50 min after treatment.