The aromas of tempehs, fermented by single Rhizopus strain or ragi as starter, were obviously dependent on the fermentation time since the profiles of volatile components shown by gas chromatographic analysis were markedly altered on the later stage of tempeh fermentation. The extent of the variations in the gas chromatograms peak profiles were also considerably influenced by the kind of starter used. Some of the peaks exhibited by the different starters, specified for principal component analysis (PCA), were definitely variable on the gas chromatogram. As a result of the PCA, 5 kinds of starters used seemed to be yielding almost the same aroma up to 18 h of fermentation time, but after that, with the continuance of fermentation, the tempeh aromas produced by different starters, contrasted each other. It was then deducted that PCA could be a useful tool for the characterization of tempeh starter using the aroma determined with a gas chromatograph. However, it was not feasible to correlate the connection of the aroma characterization of tempeh by PCA and by sensory test.