[Objective]The paper was to explore the insecticidal activities of capsaicin and nonivamide.[Method]With nonanoic acid and vanillin as starting materials,nonivamide was prepared by reductive amination and N-acylation reaction,and the chemical structure of target compound was confirmed by 1 H NMR and EI-MS.The biological activities of nonivamide and capsaicin were tested.[Result]Both capsaicin and synthetic nonivamide had no obvious insecticidal activities against third instar larvae of diamondback moth [Plutella xyllostella (Linnaeus)]and 3-day-old nymphs of broad bean aphids (Aphis craccivora).[Conclusion] The research provided theoretical basis for further study on insecticidal activities of capsaicin. [Objective] The paper was to explore the insecticidal activities of capsaicin and nonivamide. [Method] With nonanoic acid and vanillin as starting materials, nonivamide was prepared by reductive amination and N-acylation reaction, and the chemical structure of target compound was confirmed by 1 H NMR and EI-MS. The biological activities of nonivamide and capsaicin were tested. [Result] Both capsaicin and synthetic nonivamide had no obvious insecticidal activities against third instar larvae of diamondback moth [Plutella xyllostella (Linnaeus)] and 3-day- old nymphs of broad bean aphids (Aphis craccivora). [Conclusion] The research provides theoretical basis for further study on insecticidal activities of capsaicin.