To explore the key genes involved in oil content and fatty acid metabolism in Camellia oleifera， transcriptome analysis was performed on the kernel at three key developmental stages. Correlation analysis was conducted on the expression levels， oil content， and proportions of each fatty acid component of the enriched fatty acid metabolism key genes. Transcriptome analysis revealed 17772 differentially expressed genes （DEGs）， of which 11006 were up-regulated， and 6766 were down-regulated. Gene Ontology （GO） analysis showed that 1302 DEGs were enriched with 195 GO terms across the three comparative groups. DEGs in each pairwise group were enriched with 14， 1， and 17 GO terms. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） analysis showed that DEGs were enriched in five pathways： flavonoid biosynthesis， phenylpropanoid biosynthesis， diarylheptanoid and gingerol biosynthesis， and glutathione metabolism. During the critical period of fatty acid synthesis， in the Em0707vsEm1003 comparison group， DEGs were enriched in four pathways： fatty acid biosynthesis， fatty acid metabolism， biotin metabolism and pyruvate metabolism. Twelve DEGs were involved in the fatty acid metabolism pathway. Further determination of oil content and fatty acid composition at different stages of kernel development and correlation analysis， showed that the expression levels of ACC， KASIII， PATE， KAT2 and SAD genes were extremly significantly positively correlated with seed oil content and oleic acid. In contrast， KASIII， ACC， PATE， and KAT2 genes were extremly significantly negatively correlated with palmitic acid. These genes may be key regulators of oil content and fatty acid metabolism in Camellia oleifera， thus providing a scientific basis for future genetic improvement of Camellia oleifera.