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Although a number of depigmenting agents have already been developed, the majority of them produce adverse side-effects. There is, therefore, a constant need for melanogenesis inhibitors. In this study, the hydrodistilled essential oil from the apricot seeds (Armeniacae Semen) was investigated for the activity against tyrosinase and melanogenesis. The apricot seed essential oil inhibited mushroom tyrosinase with an IC50 value of 1.11 μg/mL, which is more potent than the activities of kojic acid (IC50 5.07 μg/mL), ascorbic acid (IC50 54.0 μg/mL) and lemon essential oil (IC50 432.8 μg/mL). Benzaldehyde, the major component of the apricot seed essential oil, also showed similar level of inhibition (IC50 0.94 μg/mL). These results suggest that the activity of the apricot seed essential oil is due to benzaldehyde. The apricot seed essential oil decreased tyrosinase activity and melanin content of murine B16F10 melanoma cells in concentration-depentent manners. No cytotoxic effect was seen in B16F10 and human CCD-1064sk skin fibroblast cells treated with up to 100 μg/mL of the apricot seed essential oil. These results indicate that the apricot seed essential oil may have potential for the application in aromatherapy and the development of depigmenting agents.