The almond moth, Ephestia cautella Walker is one of the most important pests of date fruits in storage in Egypt. The present study was conducted in the laboratory to evaluate the effect of two date varieties on the development and reproductive potential of E. cautella. The tested date varieties were Saidy (semi-dry) and Sakkoti (dry). Results indicated that the developmental duration of the immature stages (egg, larva and pupae) was 53.70±3.67 days on the dry- date; and 43.34±4.27 days on the semi-dry date. The survivorship during the period from egg to adult was 55.57% for the pest reared on the dry- date (Sakkoti); and 29.58% on the semi-dry (Saidy). The relatively higher index of efficacy of the pest (1.03) was observed on the dry-date, whereas the lowest (0.68) was recorded on the semi-dry date. Based on the results of life table statistics, the highest GRR, R₀, r_m and λ (35.48, 30.85, 0.0622 and 1.0637) occurred on the dry, whereas, the lowest (16.87, 14.62, 0.0603 and 1.0622) occurred on semi-dry. It seems that dry-date variety was highly favorable host for development and reproduction of the tested pest.