This paper studies various classifiers to identify primary,secondary or tertiary alcohols by using segmental spectra and their combinations to support vector machines (SVMs). The results showed that the O-H in-plane bending absorption contributed most to identification their substitute. This conclusion disagrees with related known research results. This paper shows various classifiers to identify primary, secondary or tertiary alcohols by using segmental spectra and their combinations to support vector machines (SVMs). The results showed that the OH in-plane bending absorption contributed most to identification their substitute. This conclusion disagrees with related known research results.