The essential oils of Artemisia verlotorum and Artemisia argyi from Tangyin County were extracted by steam distillation (SD) and supercritical fluid extraction combined molecular distillation (SFE-MD), and then the chemical components were determined and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Meanwhile, their antibacterial activities were examined. The results showed that the yield of essential oil extracted by SD was 1.3~2.6 times higher than that by SFE-MD. The main components of Artemisia verlotorum essential oil were β-caryophyllene, endo-borneol, caryophyllene oxide and germacrene D, etc., while the main components of Artemisia argyi essential oil were eucalyptol, terpinene-4-ol and neointermedeol, etc. The essential oil of Artemisia argyi was mainly monoterpenoids, while Artemisia verlotorum essential oil contained more sesquiterpenoids. SFE-MD would lead to the loss of some monoterpenoids, such as eucalyptol. The wormwood leaf essential oil had an excellent bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects on Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans. The order of antibacterial effect was,Artemisia argyi essential oil > Artemisia verlotorum essential oil.