Past demographic transitions have been observed with and without economic progress, but there is little empirical record of crisis-driven fertility transitions. In recent years, several authors have argued that conditions for such transitions are met inAfrican countries under economic crisis and structural adjustment. Using retrospective family histories,this study examines fertility responses to crisis in Cameroon, a country with a particularly abrupt economic reversal. The thesis of a crisis-led declineis tested on the basis of five criteria including timing of the decline, statistical and substantive significance, rural-urban response differentials and social salience. Findings are consistent with a crisis-led effect.