[Aim]  To assess the effects of different foods on the growth and reproduction of striped stem borer (Chilo suppressalis). [Methods]  Striped stem borer larvae were reared on either an artificial diet, cultivated rice, or wild rice, and their growth, uniformity of development and reproductive capacity on each food type were measured and compared. [Results]  Larvae survived on the artificial diet, rice and wild rice for 32.3, 26.0 and 22.5 d, respectively, and attained sixth-instar weights of 69.8, 71.9 and 75.5 mg, respectively. Significant differences were observed between larval periods and sixth-instar weights of larvae reared on the artificial diet and wild rice (P<0.05). The frequency distribution of the weight of larvae and pupae fed on wild rice was more normally distributed, and their development was more uniform. The pupal period of larvae fed the artificial diet reached 8.3 d; noticeably longer than that of those that fed cultivated or wild rice (P<0.05). The larval survival rate, pupation rate, pupal weight, and number of adults produced, were highest in larvae fed on wild rice and lowest in those fed the artificial diet. A greater proportion of the larvae that were fed wild rice completed their life cycle and these also attained higher pupal weights and adult fecundity. Food type had no significant effect the number of eggs laid or the hatching rate (P>0.05). [Conclusion]  C. suppressalis larvae that feed on wild rice develop quicker, have higher pupal weight, more uniformity of development, and higher fecundity.