The volatile flavor constituents of traditional cooking Wuxi sauce sparerib were extracted by solid phase microextraction (SPME) and simultaneous distillation extraction (SDE), and identified by the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Compared with the volatile flavor components of flexible packing Wuxi sparerib, the former 71 compounds were identified and the latter 76 species were identified, and both of the detected have 31 species. The differences in the aldehydes and the sulfur-containing compounds, nitrogen-containing compounds and heterocyclic compounds are more significant, which are the main reasons for the different flavor compounds in two sauce spareribs. In addition, the different fennel and other spices usage may be another cause of traditional cooking and flexible packaging Wuxi sauce sparerib flavor differences.