The effect of hot water treatment (HWT) to control peaches brown rot was investigated. Peaches were dipped in water at 60°C for 60 s and artificially inoculated with Monilinia fructicola conidia. HWT failed to control Monilinia rot if applied before inoculation and microscopic observations revealed a stimulatory effect on germ tube elongation of M. fructicola conidia placed immediately after HWT on the fruit surface, compared to the control. The influence of fruit volatile emission due to HWT was performed on the pathogen conidia exposed to the headspace surrounding peaches. The results showed an increase of M. fructicola conidia germination ranging from 33% to 64% for ‘Lucie Tardibelle’ and ‘Redhaven’ heat-treated peaches, respectively, compared to the control. The volatile blend emitted from heat-treated fruit was analyzed by solid-phase microextraction/gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME/GC-MS) and proton transfer reaction time of flight-mass spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS). Fifty compounds were detected by SPME/GC-MS in volatile blends of ‘Lucie Tardibelle’ peaches and significant differences in volatile emission were observed among heated and control fruit. By PTR-ToF-MS analysis acetaldehyde and ethanol resulted fifteen and twenty-eight fold higher in heated fruit compared to unheated ones, respectively. In vitro assays confirmed the stimulatory effect (60%and 15%) of acetaldehyde (0·6 μL L−1) and ethanol (0·2 μL L−1) on M. fructicola conidial germination and mycelia growth, respectively. For the first time, our results showed that volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from heat-treated peaches could stimulate M. fructicola conidia germination, increasing brown rot incidence in treated peaches when the inoculation occurs immediately after HWT.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.