Benzenoids volatile compounds significantly contribute to the distinctive aroma of both Japanese apricot fruit and its processed products. However, the accumulation pattern and formation mechanism of such characteristic aroma have not been sufficiently studied. In order to investigate the formation and accumulation of the characteristic aroma substances in Japanese apricot fruit and their origin mechanisms, Japanese apricot fruit at different ripening stages were analyzed by headspace-solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS), and correlation analysis was performed by combining specific amino acids and other precursors. The results showed that the aroma characteristics varied significantly during the ripening process, and the metabolism of aroma substances was the most active and the amino acid content was the lowest in the middle stage of ripening (80~100d after flowering). The changes in the accumulation of characteristic aroma substances in Japanese apricot fruit indicated that the aromatic aroma substances originated from the phenylalanine metabolic pathway, and there was a competitive relationship between the benzaldehyde and phenylacetaldehyde synthesis pathways. Benzaldehyde was formed through the non-β oxidation pathway.