In the present work, the use of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) to obtain β-caryophyllene from Cordia verbenacea DC was studied. The assays were performed using a single-step SFE (1S-SFE) and a three-step SFE (3S-SFE). In view of the literature results for the biological activities of C. verbenacea, the assays for the 3S-SFE were conducted at 60 °C and pressures of 8, 20, and 30 MPa, while for the 1S-SFE, they were performed at 50 and 60 °C and pressures of 20 and 30 MPa. In the 3S-SFE, three samples of C. verbenacea extract were obtained. The purity of β-caryophyllene was 33% (extract's dry basis) for the fraction obtained at 8 MPa. The kinetics of supercritical CO2 extraction was studied at the optimum operational conditions for global yield and anticancer activity (30 MPa/50 °C and 20 MPa/40 °C, respectively). The effect of bed height on the kinetic parameters of the SFE process was also investigated. Literature models fitted quantitatively the experimental extraction curves. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.