A field population of Culex pipiens pallens was collected from Nanjing, China on July in 2000 and reared in an insectarium. Larvae were subjected to single, mixed, and alternating exposure to deltamethrin and/or fenthion, and the surviving early 4th instars were reared for establishment of adult colonies. Larvae from the colonies were then subjected to the same selection pressures over the subsequent 15 generations. Resistance rates and ratios were measured as LC₅₀ values derived from larval bioassays. In populations exposed to deltamethrin or fenthion alone (single exposure), resistance levels rose rapidly. The LC₅₀ values for deltamethrin and fenthion alone were 29.3 and 1.565 mg/liter, respectively, and the ratios of resistance were 697.6- and 24.8-fold, respectively. Exposure to a mixture of deltamethrin and fenthion (1:1; mixed selection) reduced the development of resistance. The LC₅₀ value and ratio of resistance for the mixture of deltamethrin and fenthion were 0.607 mg/liter and 14.8-fold, respectively, at generation 15. Exposure to alternating treatments of deltamethrin and fenthion (alternating selection) showed an even lower development of resistance. For the alternating treatments, the LC₅₀ value and ratio of resistance to deltamethrin were 0.795 mg/liter and 17.7-fold, respectively (generation 14), and those to fenthion were 0.219 mg/liter and 3.6-fold, respectively (generation 15). Together, these results indicate that the single continuous insecticide selection generated a much more severe resistance than a mixture and/or alternating treatments.