[Objectives]  To investigate the chemical trail communication in Macrotermes annandalei (Silvestri). [Methods]  The trail pheromone of M. annandalei was chemically analyzed and behaviorally assayed. [Results]  The trail pheromone from the sternal-gland of the soldier caste in the foraging M. annandalei was (3Z)-dodec-3-en-1-ol (DOE), which was the same as that of workers. The large soldiers (LS) secreted the most DOE; 3.88 and 3.78 times more than that secreted by the workers and the small soldiers (SS), respectively. This indicates that the LS are the recruitment caste among the foraging workers. Despite the advanced position of small soldiers in the foraging populations, they secreted the same amount of trail pheromone as both the large workers (LW) and the small workers (SW), and therefore are unlikely to be a recruitment caste. Field behavioural observations and indoor bioassay results confirmed that the LS can recruit the workers by secreting higher amount of the trail pheromone component, the DOE. [Conclusion]  M. annandalei relies on a single component trail pheromone from large soldiers and their position in the foraging populations to effectively exchange information on food sources and orientate the foraging nestmates towards food sources.