The schoolboy, who has not yet been named, was playing with friends on the street when the tragedy took place.
Emergency crews were called to the scene shortly before 2pm and he was taken to hospital for treatment.
A relative of the boy, who did not want to be named, said:"I've never seen anything so horrible in my whole life.
I ran out and saw him running up the street in flames, they were covering his whole body.
His clothes were half burnt off him and half sticking to him. It was awful. I was in floods of tears."
The family were alerted to the tragedy by neighbours who had rushed out of their homes to throw water on the boy.
The relative said:"His mum collapsed when she found out and she needed to be taken in the same ambulance for oxygen."
She claimed the children had been playing when they took a petrol can out of the back of a council lorry.
She said:"Him and a group of mates were just mucking about.
They were playing near a council van that had petrol in the back of it.
I don't think they knew it was petrol. The back of the van was open and his mates were chucking petrol on him.
They had lighters and they were sparking them. The next thing I know he is running down the road screaming.
I think it's terrible the council just leaving it there for kids to get to. It's really irresponsible."
Barney Crockett, Aberdeen City Council leader, said:"I feel sorry for this boy and what's happened to him.
Obviously, thoughts are with the family and the boy that's been injured.
We'll have to look at things when we know more in due course."
Shocked local resident Paulina Pilska said she watched the boy running from the side of a building with flames all over one side of his body.
The 25-year-old cleaner said:"I was watching from my window and could see three boys and one girl jump on top of a council pick-up van.
They were searching for something. I saw one of them with a container, like a watering can.
A few moments later the boys ran off.
Then I saw a boy with fire on him coming from the lane.
There were kids with him trying to put him on the ground. He was shouting, but not very loud. I was shocked."
The boy is believed to have lived on the street with his mother and her four other children.
Other residents said the mother had gone to the hospital to be with her seven-year-old son.
They said the boy is believed to have had fuel on his clothes which somehow ignited.
Another neighbour, who did not want be named, said:"There seems to be something happening on this street every week.
We heard there was some fuel taken from the back of a car. I hope the little boy is okay."
A force spokesman said:"A seven-year-old boy is undergoing treatment following an incident in Bedford Avenue in Aberdeen.
It was reported to us at 2pm this afternoon. The incident involves petrol and the boy has quite serious burns.
Police are at the scene and following a positive line of inquiry."
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