Onion thrips, Thrips tabaci Lindeman (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), is a major pest of greenhouse crops in Iran. It is one of the major limiting factors affecting yield of cucumber. A study on the biology of this pest was carried out in laboratory condition (25±1°C, 70±5% RH and 16:8 h (L: D) photoperiod) on cucumber (var. Soltan) in 2007. This survey showed that T. tabaci completed the life cycle from 18 to 21 days. Duration of life cycle including egg, L1, L2, prepupa, pupa and adult was 2.82±1.33, 1.95±1.42, 4.12±0.92, 1.03±1.44, 1.97±0.91 and 14.4±3.13 days. Females could produce about 26.82±5.56 eggs. Thrips sex ratio progeny revealed no presence of males, since only females emerged. Knowledge on the biology of this insect pest would contribute to a better understanding of the relationships between the crop and the environment, and knowledge on this insect pest biology would allow establishing control strategies in a future integrated pest management program (IPM).