Natural regeneration of commercial timber species was investigated in 75 felling gaps demarcated in a tropical rainforest concession of Southern Cameroon. These gaps belonged to 5 forest blocks or age classes (1, 3, 6, 9, 12) and each class was composed of small, medium, and large-sized gaps. Species and seedling densities (numbers per unit area) were highest in 1 year-old gaps, whereas the most important sapling density was observed in 9 year-old openings. Medium-sized gaps exhibited species, seedling and sapling densities that were higher than those recorded for other size classes. Compared with contiguous undisturbed forest understorey (control), gap floor yielded significantly lower seedling density, although species and sapling densities did not vary with these environmental conditions. Most species could be found as saplings in gap and understorey respectively. Results suggest that gap areas of more than 1 300 m² considerably hamper the process of forest recovery in terms of recruitment and species diversity. They also indicate that species regeneration and conservation in felled-tree gaps not only depend on light conditions, but also on the control of weed development.