Abstract  [Objectives]  To investigate the effect of changes in the volatile components of cotton plants on the oviposition behavior of adult female Spodoptera frugiperda Smith, an important agricultural and forestry pest in China. [Methods]  Adult female S. frugiperda were allowed to choose between volatiles collected from healthy, mechanically damaged or insect damaged, cotton plants under laboratory conditions. Volatile samples were collected from cotton plants using the dynamic headspace adsorption technique at 3 different time periods. The chemical identities of the volatile components and their contents were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Qualitive and quantitative changes in volatile components were further analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA). [Results]  Significantly more egg masses and eggs were laid on healthy plants than on mechanically damaged, or caterpillar damaged, plants on the 1st day. However, no significant preference was apparent on the 2nd and 3rd day. Significantly more egg masses and eggs were laid by adult females on the 1st day compared to the 2nd and the 3rd day. A total of 25 compounds were identified in volatiles from all three kinds of plants and plants that had been subject to mechanical or caterpillar damage produced a higher number of volatile compounds with more diverse components than undamaged plants on the 1st day. Eleven compounds were identified in mechanically damaged cotton. Octanal and 1-nonadecanol were characteristic components of the volatiles of damaged plants, whereas only 1-decayne and benzaldehyde were detected in those from healthy cotton. Large amounts of terpenes were released from caterpillar-damaged cotton on the 1st day, after which the amount gradually decreased. Changes in the composition of volatiles released by caterpillar-damaged cotton were attributed to changes in the ratio of 14 compounds, such as limonene, (3E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonadiene, linalool, indole, β-ocimene and β-caryophyllene. [Conclusion]  Healthy cotton attracted more female S. frugiperda whereas caterpillar-damaged cotton appeared to inhibit oviposition. It is possible that the 1-decayne and benzaldehyde released by healthy cotton plays an important role in attracting female moths for egg-laying, whereas the different volatiles released by caterpillar-damaged cotton, such as (3E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonadiene, linalool and indole, repel females.