This study investigated the effects of different tillage methods on the growth response of soybean (Glycine max. (L.) Merr.) in order to determine the most suitable tillage method for optimizing soybean production in tropical sandy loam soils. A replicated complete randomized design with treatments con- sisting of no-tillage (NT), no-tillage plus hoeing (NTH), ploughing only (P) and ploughing and harrowing (PH) operations established at the Teaching and Research Farm, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria was used for the study. The soil was Oxic Tropu- dult, according to the USDA Soil Classification. The plant height, number of leaves per stand, leaf area, number of pods per stand and seed yield were determined for each of the treatments for 2004 and 2005 seasons. The plant height, number of leaves per stand and leaf area were determined fortnightly over a period of 14 weeks after tillage operations while number of pods per stand and seed yield were determined at maturity. The results show that all the tillage treatments were significantly (P < 0.05) different in their effects on plant height, number of leaves per stand, leaf area, number of pods per stand and seed yield. In general, conventional tillage (P and PH) produced a significantly (P < 0.05) better soybean growth response (plant height, leaf area, number of pods per stand and seed yield) than that obtained for the conservation tillage (NT and NTH) me- thods. Furthermore, the highest average seed yield (932.1 kg ha-1) for both seasons was recorded on plots treated with ploughing only (P). Considering the yield, comparative cost implication(s) and energy requirements, ploughing only (P) was found to be more suitable than ploughing and harrowing (PH) for the cultivation of soybean on tropical sandy loam soils.