C8 alcohols, such as 1-octen-3-ol and 3-octanol, have been variously described as mushroom, musty or earthy and are common volatile compounds of soymilk. C8 alcohols were the major volatiles formed during soybean soaking, and about 95% of the total C8 alcohols were originated from the enzymatic hydrolysis of glycosides of alcohols in soybean hypocotyls. In addition to 1-octen-3-yl β-primeveroside, a new glycoside was purified from the methanol extracts of soybean hypocotyls and were confirmed as 3-octanyl β-primeverosides by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). The crude glycosidase extracted from soybean hypocotyls showed much higher hydrolysis activities toward C8 alcohol β-primeverosides than that of almond β-glycosidase. Besides, increasing nonenzymatic hydrolysis was observed when the purified β-primeverosides were heated at pH values lower than 6. The nonenzymatic hydrolysis activation energies (E a ) were 30.41 kJ/mol and 38.08 kJ/mol for 1-octen-3-yl β-primeveroside and 3-octanyl β-primeveroside, respectively. In addition to C8 alcohols, nonenzymatic hydrolysis also resulted in the formation of 2,3-octanedione, 3-hydroxy-2-octanone and 3-octanone. The nonenzymatic hydrolysis of β-primeverosides in the soy milk was also studied under the same conditions as those in the model systems. The degree of hydrolysis was similar but the molar yields of the volatile components were lower than those obtained in the model system.