The susceptibility to pyrethroïds in the cotton bollworm Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) from Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa, decreased steadly for years to such an extent that field infestations became critical and culminated in 1998. Accordingly, a relevant resistance management strategy was developed. Innovative programmes were implemented with several non-pyrethroïd insecticides to control the first generation of H. armigera at the cotton vegetative stage, as pyrethroïd insecticide sprays were restricted to the cotton fruiting stage. Three-year data showed that pyrethroïd resistance management programmes based on endosulfan or profenofos sprays at the cotton vegetative stage were effective in controlling H. armigera infestations and ensured satisfactory seed cotton yields. Similar programmes performed with new insecticides (spinosad, indoxacarb) appeared to be at least equivalent to endosulfan or profenofos based programs. The wide adoption of the insect resistance management strategy at the national level contributed to significantly reduced field populations of H. armigera for the last two years and helped stabilize the resistance level.