[Aim]We examined the control effectiveness of commonly used insecticides in a paddy field to the white-backed planthopper in eastern Yunnan.[Method] Toxicity of the insecticides was assessed by using indoor straw impregnation method and experiments in field plots.[Result] The LC₅₀ values of the populations to thiamethoxam, buprofezin, imidacloprid, pymetrozine and chlorpyrifos were 0.208, 0.459, 0.608, 3.108 and 1.256 mg·L^-1, and the resistance ratios were 2.2, 10.4, 5.6, 6.5 and 5.3 times, respectively. The population in eastern Yunnan was not resistant to thiamethoxam, had low resistance to imidacloprid, pymetrozine, and chlorpyrifos, and moderate resistance to buprofezin. The field control effects of insecticides on the white backed planthopper populations significantly differed after 1, 5 and 10 d of insecticide application. The effects of other insecticides were more than 80% except for pymetrozine, and imidacloprid and buprofezin were control longer duration which more than 90% at 10 d, and thiamethoxam and imidacloprid were over 90% after spraying at 1 d and 5 d. Pymetrozine was the least efficient at 64.88%~77.82%.[Conclusion] The population of the white-backed planthopper from Shizong county was moderately resistant to buprofezin, and had low level of resistance to imidacloprid, pymetrozine and chlorpyrifos, not resistant to thiamethoxam. In the field, imidacloprid and buprofezin were mostly effective. Midacloprid nd buprofezin were recommended to control the white-backed planthoppers in rice growing area of eastern Yunnan, and to limit the usage times and dosage of pymetrozine.