This study evaluated the compressive strength and marginal adaptation of composite onlays using indirect and direct techniques after thermal and mechanical cycling. Onlay standardized cavities were prepared in 50 permanent molars and restored with Z-250 resin composite using indirect (IRT) or direct (DRT) restorative techniques. The restorations were either submitted or not submitted to thermal (500 cycles, 5 degrees to 55 degrees C) and mechanical cycling (50,000 cycles, 50N). The teeth were distributed to five groups (n=10): G1-IRT/cycling; G2-IRT/no cycling; G3-DRT/ cycling; G4-DRT/no cycling and G5 (control group)-sound teeth. All prepared teeth were stored in 100% relative humidity at 37 degrees C for 24 hours, followed by finishing with Sof-Lex discs. A caries detector solution was applied on the tooth-restoration interface of all teeth for five seconds, followed by washing and drying. Four digital photographs were taken of each tooth surface. The extent of gaps was measured using standard software (Image Tool 3.0). All groups were submitted to compression testing in a universal testing machine (INSTRON) at a crosshead speed of 1 mm/minute until failure. The compressive strength (CS) and marginal adaptation data were submitted to ANOVA and Takey test (p < 0.05). For both evaluation criteria (compressive strength and marginal adaptation), there were no statistically significant differences among the restorative techniques. Deterioration over time was observed for both types of restorations. However, the prevalence of catastrophic fractures increased among direct restorations. The application of thermal/mechanical cycling only influenced marginal adaptation.334434440