The use of the ‘omics techniques in environmental research has become common-place. The most widely implemented of these include metabolomics, proteomics, genomics, and transcriptomics. In recent years, a similar approach has also been taken with the analysis of volatiles from biological samples, giving rise to the so-called ‘volatilomics’ in plant analysis. Developments in direct infusion mass spectrometry (DI-MS) techniques have made it possible to monitor the changes in the composition of volatile flux from parts of plants, single specimens, and entire ecosystems in real-time. The application of these techniques enables a unique insight into the dynamic metabolic processes that occur in plants. Here, we provide an overview of the use of DI-MS in real-time volatilomics research involving plants. Direct infusion mass spectrometry (DI-MS) techniques are a valuable tool for real-time monitoring of the plant volatilome.DI-MS techniques are particularly useful in detecting brief episodes of increased biogenic volatile organic compound emissions caused, for instance, by herbivore attacks.Current studies on the use of DI-MS techniques for the determination of plant volatiles are conducted at several scales, from parts of plants and whole specimens to entire ecosystems.Proton transfer reaction MS is the preeminent technique used for the monitoring of volatile plant metabolites.Current developments in DI-MS solutions are focused on the application of tandem MS.