The simultaneous removal of ethyl acetate, benzene and toluene with relatively low or high initial concentration is studied using a laboratory scale gliding arc gas discharge (GA) reactor. Good decomposition efficiencies are obtained which proves that the GA is effective for the treatment of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with either low or high concentration. A theoretical decomposition mechanism is proposed based on detection of the species in the plasma region and analysis of the decomposition by-products. This preliminary investigation reveals that the GA has potential to be applied to the treatment of exhaust air during color printing and coating works, by either direct removal or combination with activated carbon adsorption/desorption process.