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The effects of various irrigation strategies applied with drip system and different planting dates on yield, components and water use efficiency of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.; var. Inci), were evaluated during 2010 and 2011 under Mediterranean conditions. The treatments included full irrigation (FI), mild deficit irrigation (DI-75), severe deficit irrigation (DI-25), partial root-zone drying (PRD-50), and non-irrigated (DRY) for winter and spring planting times. DI-75, PRD-50, and DI-25 received irrigation water 75, 50, and 25% of full irrigation, respectively. Both irrigation regimes and sowing dates had significantly different effect on grain yields. Interaction of irrigation and sowing dates was also significant in 2011. Water stress reduced significantly yield of spring-planted chickpea as compared to winter-planted chickpea. The greatest yields of 4.40 and 2.85 t ha-1 were recorded, respectively, for winter- and spring-planted chickpeas under FI. The greatest water use efficiency was 0.70 kg m-3 for winter-planted and 1.03 kg m-3 for spring-planted chickpeas in DRY treatment. WUE increased with decreasing irrigation amounts for both planting times. Winter planting performed better than spring planting for the yield and yield attributes. However, in dry years, deficit irrigations DI-75 and PRD-50 can be practiced to obtain higher yields with winter sowing.