[Aim]  To determine the effects of four different cucurbit host plants on the growth and development of Aspongopus chinensis, an insect with high medicinal and food value in China, with the aim of improving the captive propagation of this species. [Methods]  Four gourd plants from the Cucurbitaceae family, including Sechium edule, Cucurbita moschata, Momordica charantia and Cucumis sativus, were selected as experimental materials. After the primary generation of A. chinensis was captured in the wild and bred in outdoor conditions, the second generation of insects was used for the study. The growth and development stages, survival rate, and five external morphological indicators-body length, body width, weight, pronotum length, and pronotum width-were observed and recorded for nymphs of different ages. [Results]  (1) All nymphs on C. sativus host plants had died by the 2nd instar. Except for the 1st instar nymphs, the developmental period of all four instars feeding on M. charantia was longer than that of those feeding on S. edule and C. moschata. Except for the 2nd and 4th instar nymphs, the developmental periods of nymphs raised on S. edule were shorter than those raised on C. moschata. Considering the entire developmental period, nymphs raised on S. edule had the shortest total period of growth and development, whereas those raised on M. charantia had the longest. (2) The survival rates of nymphs reared on different host plants can be ranked as follows: S. edule (83.33%) > C. moschata (63.33%) > M. charantia (36.67%). (3) There were highly significant differences (P<0.01) between the body length, body width, prothoracic dorsal plate width, and body weight, of adults raised on S. edule and those raised on C. moschata, and significant differences (P<0.05) in the indicator prothoracic dorsal plate length between those raised on S. edule and M. charantia. [Conclusion]  Host plant variety had a significant effect on the growth and developmental period of nymphs and adult external morphology. The results indicate that, of the five host plants evaluated, S. edule is the best for rearing A. chinensis, and C. moschata is preferable to C. sativus or M. charantia.