AbstractCamelina (Camelina sativa (L.) Crtz.) is regarded as a potential crop producing a seed oil rich in linolenic acid (C18:3), which could be utilized for different oleochemical applications. Seeds of a camelina breeding line have been irradiated with gamma‐rays in order to induce genetic variation in fatty acid composition. In the M2‐generation, 8017 plants were subjected to a thiobarbituric acid test to identify mutants with increased linolenic acid content. Subsequently, M3‐lines were isolated, which showed significantly higher concentrations of linolenic acid (up to 40.8%) than the control (34–36%). Moreover, genotypes with an erucic acid content of less than 2% were also found in the mutant population. Different mutant lines can thus be combined in order to obtain transgressive segregants, which could give a further increase in linolenic acid content.