Very volatile organic compounds (VVOCs), such as methanol, acetaldehyde, ethanol, acetone, acetonitrile, and dichloromethane, were extracted from water samples using a needle-type extraction device based on purge and trap analysis. The extracted analytes could then be determined by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. By introducing carbon molecular sieves as the extraction medium, aqueous VVOCs could be successfully extracted using the extraction needle. The limit of quantification for methanol, acetaldehyde, ethanol, acetone, acetonitrile, and dichloromethane were 75, 75, 7.5, 0.5, 10 and 0.5 μg/L, respectively. This newly developed method was also successfully applied to the determination of VVOCs in commercial samples, such as fruit juice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]