There may be other ways, but here's what I would do: - Create a Serializable class with an array of strings as a member. - When you close your application, create an instance of this class and copy your comboBox items into the string array of your class. - Then, serialize your class in to file. Finally, when you start your application, deserialize your class, and use comboBox1.Items.Clear(); comboBox1.Items.AddRange(myCustomClassInstance.StringArray); You will find plenty of information and tutorials about serialization on the web. Cheers