Small grains are widely grown as a cool-season forage crop for beef cattle and dairy industries in Texas. Small grains such as wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) for grazing are typically planted early in the fall and hence are more vulnerable to infestation by Hessian fly, Mayetiola destructor (Say). Although delaying planting until cooler weather can reduce pressure, Texas does not have a “fly free” date like many northern states. However, other small grains such as barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) might be less prone to damage by Hessian fly. An experiment in a controlled environment was used to determine resistance of winter barley, hard red winter wheat, and hard red spring wheat lines to Hessian fly and compare infestations among species. Infested tillers of winter wheat were collected and put with barley and wheat lines at Feekes growth stage 1.1 in a growth chamber. Approximately 2 weeks later, plants were dissected and numbers of Hessian fly larvae and pupae were counted. Hessian fly infestations significantly greater than zero using Fisher's LSD (P < 0.1) were considered susceptible while those not significantly different were resistant. Results showed that 42 of 136 (30.9%) winter barley, 31 of 40 (77.5%) winter wheat, and eight of 24 (33.3%) spring wheat genotypes were susceptible to the biotype of Hessian fly. The average numbers of Hessian flies per tiller were 2.2, 4.8, and 7.6 for barley, spring wheat, and winter wheat lines, respectively. Barley was a less preferred host than wheat and might be better suited in areas with abundant Hessian flies.