Garlic, a widely cultivated global vegetable crop, is threatened by the underground pest Bradysia odoriphaga in China. Previous reports indicated that garlic essential oil, of which the dominant components are sulfides or thiosulfinates, exhibits insecticidal activity against pests. However, it is unclear whether the resistance of garlic to B. odoriphaga is related to thiosulfinates. Here, we compared the resistance of 10 garlic cultivars at various growth stages to B. odoriphaga by field investigation and indoor life-table data collection. Furthermore, the relationship between thiosulfinates content and resistance, as well as the toxicity of garlic oil and allicin against B. odoriphaga larvae was determined. Field surveys demonstrated that the garlic cultivars Qixian and Cangshan possessed the highest resistance, while Siliuban and Yishui were the most sensitive. When reared on Qixian, B. odoriphaga larval survival and fecundity declined by 26.2% and 17.7% respectively, but the development time was prolonged by 2.8 d compared with Siliuban. A positive correlation was detected between thiosulfinates content and resistance. Furthermore, garlic oil and allicin exhibited strong insecticidal activity. We screened out 2 pest-resistant cultivars, for which thiosulfinate content was highest. Additionally, the insecticidal activity displayed by sulfides and allcin suggests their potential for exploitation as botanical insecticides.