The cowpea is a tropical legume originating from Africa and is cultivated in most tropical regions of the world. In Brazil, cowpea is mostly cultivated in the Northeastern region and is the main protein source of daily diets for most part of the poor population in this region. Diseases caused by pathogens, including fungi, bacteria, viruses and nematodes, constitute one of the most important constrains to production in all cultivating areas. The aim of this work was to study the induction of defense proteins in cowpea seedlings infected with the fungi F. oxysporum cubensis and F. oxysporum phaseoli. Cowpea seeds, after the disinfection, were transferred by Petri dishes containing 0.5% agar. After germination they were infected with a drop of 0.5 x 10⁴ spores/mL. Seedlings were collected at 24, 48, 72 and 96 h after infection and were dissected on leaf, hypocotyls, root and cotyledons. The respective parts and the agar were measured and weight for morph metric analysis. Then they were submitted to the maceration in liquid N₂ and extracted with two buffers: (1) 20 mM sodium acetate pH 5.5, (2) 10 mM sodium borate pH 9.0. After extractions supernatants were collected and submitted to assays to determine the activity of b-1,3-glucanase and chitinase. After extractions with buffer (2), supernatants were collected and PEG 14% followed by potassium phosphate to 8.5% was added and then assay for peroxidase activity. The samples did not present chitinase activity, but presented different b-1,3-glucanase and peroxidase activities in comparison with the control. Besides, the all the morph metric analyses showed great differences in comparison with the control plants. The cowpea seedlings showed a complex pattern of induction and repression of defense proteins in response to infection for both pathogens.