The level of atmospheric CO₂ has risen from 280μL/L to 360μL/L following the industrial revolution, engendering a critical shift in global biogeochemical cycles. This level of CO₂ is anticipated to double by the end of this century. By altering the chemical composition of foliage, the increase in atmospheric CO₂ levels may fundamentally alter the relationships between insect herbivores and their host plants. In addition to the elevated CO₂ levels affecting arthropods indirectly by altering chemical components of the host plants, many insects and arthropods respond directly to the increase in atmospheric CO₂ level. The Asian corn borer, Ostrinia furnacalis (Guenée) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), is a key pest of maize production and causes 10%-30% yield losses of in most maze production areas in China. The response of O. furnacalis to elevated CO₂ levels will affect the population dynamics and its damage to the maize plants. Direct effects of enriched atmospheric CO₂ levels on growth, development and fecundity of the Asian corn borer, O. furnacalis, were assessed the insects have been reared on the artificial diet. The effects were examined in the closed-dynamic CO₂ chamber (CDCC-1) under either ambient (375 μL/L) and elevated CO₂ levels (i.e., 550 μL/L and 750 μL/L, respectively). When compared with ambient CO₂ level, the survival rates of the larvae were decreased by 3.0% and 8.9% under the two elevated CO₂ levels, respectively. In addition, the mortality was higher during the first and second instars reared under elevated CO₂ (750 μL/L) than ambient (375 μL/L). However, there were no significant differences among the mortalities of the third and later instar larvae reared either under ambient or the elevated CO₂ levels (550 μL/L and 750 μL/L). There were no significant differences in the larval, pupal, and adult weight among the ambient and the two elevated CO₂ treatments. However, the durations of larval and pupal development were significantly prolonged respectively by 13.1% and 25.8% at 750 μL/L level of elevated CO₂ when compared with the ambient CO₂ level, which led to the longer generation time. The mean generation time (T) significantly prolonged by 5.3% and 11.7%, respectively under the two elevated CO₂ level treatments. Therefore, the innate rate of increase (r_m) and finite increase rate (λ) were significantly decreased, which led to the double population time (t) prolonged 9.1%. Although the number of eggs oviposited per female and the net reproductive rate (R₀) increased under the treatments with the elevated CO₂ levels when compared with the ambient CO₂ level, the difference was not statistically significant among the three CO₂ treatments. When compared with the ambient CO₂ level, the larvae consumed significantly more artificial diet (9.1% and 34.0%) and or excreted significantly more frass (42.3% and 42.0%) under the two elevated CO₂ treatments, 550 μL/L and 750 μL/L, respectively. The results from this study indicate that the exposure to elevated CO₂: a) significantly increase larval and pupal development time of O. furnacalis, which result in the significantly decrease of the innate rate of increase (r_m) for the population; b) increase larval mortality, but the third and latter instar larvae were more tolerant to the elevated CO₂ than the younger ones; and c) significantly increase food consumption, which may have led to more serious insect damage to the host plants in nature under elevated CO₂ levels than ambient CO₂ level.