Plant derived essential oils (EO) possess antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, analgesic, anti‐inflammatory, and anti‐carcinogenic activity, making them a candidate ingredient for development of nutraceuticals, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and functional foods. Schisandra chinensis fruit (SCF) is one of the 50 fundamental herbs in traditional Chinese medicine, particularly used for indications relevant to blood sugar control, acid‐base balance, and uterus myotonic activity. In this study, we aimed to characterize chemical composition in EO of SCF pulps (PEO) and seeds (SEO), as well as to determine their antioxidant, antibacterial, and cytotoxic activities. SCF were collected in northern China. PEO and SEO were produced using a steam distillation method, and the respective yield was 0.18 and 1.72 %. Using GC‐MS, we identified 61 and 48 compounds in PEO and SEO, respectively, with p‐cymene (7.4%), 3‐methoxy‐p‐cymene (5.0%) and ylangene (4.7%) being the most abundant in the former and ylangene (23.1%), p‐cymene (6.0%) and α‐longipinene (5.9%) in the later. Further, most identified compounds are monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes and their oxygenated forms. Monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes comprise 30 and 45% of PEO, respectively, and 22 and 64% of SEO. Both PEO and SEO showed a very weak antioxidant activity against DPPH with the IC50 at 3.14 and 7.18 g/mL, respectively, as compared to BHT at 0.01 g/mL. Their TRAP and FRAP values were ≤0.03 mmol Trolox/g. Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) towards Gram‐positive S. aureus and B. subtilis and Gram‐negative P. aeruginosa and E. coli were measured using an agar dilution method. Both PEO and SEO exhibited antibacterial activity against the four tested bacteria with the MIC ranging between 0.25 and 1.00 mg/mL and between 0.50 and 1.00 mg/mL, respectively, and the MBC ranging between 0.50 and 1.00 mg/mL and between 0.50 and 2.00 mg/mL, suggesting the constituents in PEO possess larger antibacterial efficacy. The cytotoxic effect of two EOs was evaluated in cultured human cervical HeLa, gastric BGC‐823, and lung A549 cancer cells. PEO and SEO diminished the viability of HeLa and BGC‐823 cells with IC50 ranging from 39 to 56 μg/mL, but was ineffective toward A549 cells. In conclusion, PEO and SEO are abundant in monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes and display modest antioxidant, antibacterial and cytotoxic activities with the former being better than the later.