This study investigated the effects of inquiry and laboratory methods of teaching on the academic performance of chemistry students in senior secondary schools in Anambra state, Nigeria. The objective of the study was to determine and compare the academic performance of students taught using inquiry and laboratory methods of teaching as compared to conventional method. Four research questions and four hypotheses guided this study. Three schools were randomly selected with two as experimental groups and one control group. One hundred and fifteen (115) SSII students made up of three intact classes from co-educational schools in two educational zones of Anambra state. A quasi experimental pretest-posttest research design was used for the study. The two experimental groups were taught some chemistry topics using inquiry and laboratory methods while the control group was taught the same chemistry topics using conventional method for nine weeks. Chemistry Achievement Test was used as instrument for data collection. The research questions were analyzed using the descriptive statistics of mean, standard deviation, standard errors while the research hypotheses were tested using inferential statistics that involved independent t-test and ANCOVA at a significant level of 0.05. The findings of the study showed that students taught using inquiry and laboratory methods performed significantly better than those taught using the conventional method. Based on the findings, it was recommended that chemistry teachers should be encouraged to use inquiry and laboratory methods in teaching chemistry. Either or both experimental methods can be used in teaching both male and female students as they enhance students' performance irrespective of gender of the students. Government should provide adequate infrastructural and instructional materials for the effective teaching of chemistry.