The photofragment excitation spectrum was obtained for the photochemical reaction, CH3CHO*-->CH3+HCO, in a supersonic free jet, by monitoring the B<--X transition of the HCO radical. The collision-free measurements fix the threshold for the dissociation at 320.5 nm, corresponding to a barrier height of 51.9 kJ mol-1 on the T1 surface of acetaldehyde. The decrease of the fluorescence quantum yield of acetaldehyde between 320.5 and 317.5 nm was found to be accompanied by an increase of the HCO yield, which was ascribed to the energy-dependent dissociation rate above the barrier.