This work aimed to investigate and compare the composition and the physicochemical properties of 18 different sources of edible vegetable oils. A systematic study on the correlation between composition and physical properties was performed using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy and fatty acid chromatographic analysis. Principal component analysis of FTIR spectra is performed to classify edible oils concerning their physical properties. The results demonstrate the potentiality of the method associated with multivariate statistics analysis as powerful, fast, and non-destructive tools for characterization and quality control of edible vegetable oils. Display omitted •The correlation of composition and physicochemical properties of edible vegetable oils•Chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques associated with multivariate statistics analysis•Unsaturated fatty acids are related to mass density, dynamic viscosity, oxidative stability index and refractive index.•These techniques allow predicting oil properties, helping in the characterization and quality control of vegetable oils.•Direct correlation of the PCA components with the set of information about composition and physical properties of the oils