Abstract: Growth and development, adult fecundity, and flight capacity of the lacewing, Chrysoperla nipponensis were investigated when the lacewing larvae were fed with cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii and four Lepidopteran eggs of Helicoverpa armigera, Agrotis ipsilon, Spodoptera exigua or Spodoptera litura. Results showed that the larvae fed with H. armigera eggs exhibited the longest larval duration (12.95 d) and the shortest pupal duration (9.69 d), while those supplied with Ap. gossypii showed the shortest larval duration (10.28 d) and the longest pupal duration (10.39 d). Larval diets had no significant influence on pupal weight, adult emergence rate, pre-oviposition period, fecundity and longevity of females. Flight mill tests showed that larval diets significantly influenced the cumulative flight duration and average flight speed of the adults. Adults from H. armigera egg treatment flied for the longest duration (13.58 h), at the lowest average speed (0.49 km·h^-1) with the highest speed less than 1.0 km·h^-1; and individuals flying beyond 10 h during the test period accounted for 60% of the tested adults. Adults from Ap. gossypii treatment flied for the shortest duration (9.38 h), at the fastest average speed (0.75 km·h^-1) with 21.05% of the individuals flying at the speed of over 1.0 km·h^-1; and individuals flying beyond 10 h during the test period accounted for 36.85%. All the findings in this paper indicated that larval diet was one of the factors influencing development and population dynamics of C. nipponensis.