To unambiguously identify spilled oils and to link them to the known sources are extremely important in settling ques-tions of environmental impact and legal liability. The fate and behavior of spilled oils in the environment depend on a number of physicochemical and biological factors. This paper presents the results regarding changes in chemical composition of light crude oil during simulated short-term weathering based on natural environmental conditions. The results show that the saturated hydrocarbons of the light crude oil mainly distribute between n-C8 and n-C23 and the most abundant n-alkanes are found in the n-C10 to n-C16. The main chemical components of the light crude oil are n-alkanes and isoprenoids. The aromatic compounds are subordinate chemical components. Under the conditions of the weathering simulation experiment,n-alkanes less than n-C12,toluene and 1,3-dimethyl ben-zene are lost after 1 d weathering,the n-C13,n-C14,naphthalene and 2-methyl-naphthalene are lost on the fifth day of weathering,and n-C15 alkane components show certain weatherproof capability. The ratios n-C17/pristane and n-C18/phytane are unaltered and can be used to identify the source of the light crude oil during the first 8 d of weathering. After 21 d,the ratio pristine/phytane can not pro-vide much information on the source of the spilled light crude oil. Triterpanes(m/z 191) as biomarker compounds of light crude oil are more valuable. To unambiguously identify spilled oils and to link them to the known sources are extremely important in settling ques-tions of environmental impact and legal liability. The fate and behavior of spilled oils in the environment depend on a number of physicochemical and biological factors. This paper presents the results regarding changes in chemical composition of light crude oil during during short-term weathering based on natural environmental conditions. The results show that the saturated hydrocarbons of the light crude oil mainly distribute between n-C8 and n-C23 and the most abundant n-alkanes are found in the n-C10 to n-C16. The main chemical components of the light crude oil are n-alkanes and isoprenoids. The aromatic compounds are subordinate chemical components. Under the conditions of the weathering simulation experiment, n- alkanes less than n-C12, toluene and 1,3-dimethyl ben-zene are lost after 1 d weathering, the n-C13, n-C14, naphthalene and 2-methyl-naphthalene are lost on the fifth day of weathering, and n-C15 alkane components show certain weatherproof capability. The ratios n-C17 / pristane and n-C18 / phytane are unaltered and can be used to identify the source of the light crude oil during the first 8 d of weathering. After 21 d, the ratio pristine / phytane can not pro-vide much information on the source of the spilled light crude oil. Triterpanes (m / z 191) as biomarker compounds of light crude oil are more valuable.