Trees in closed forests compete strongly for light and prioritize height growth to attain a position in the canopy. Light competition is especially strong during forest succession, as there is a rapid build-up of vegetation with concomitant changes in the vertical light profile. We evaluated successional changes in height growth allocation patterns for trees in different forest light strata and successional guilds during the secondary succession of a tropical rainforest. Fourteen secondary forest stands differing in age (1-25 years) since agricultural abandonment were monitored for seven years. We estimated changes in relative light intensity (RLI) from the forest canopy to the floor for each stand and census year, and categorized trees into three forest light strata based on RLI: understory trees (RLI ≦ 33.3%), sub-canopy trees (33.3% ≦ RLI ≦ 66.6%), and canopy trees (RLI ≧ 66.6%). Tree height growth allocation strategies varied amongst forest light strata, successional guilds, and with succession; allocation to height growth was larger for trees in understory and sub-canopy compared to the canopy, for early-successional species compared to later-successional species, and trees growing in early-successional forests than trees in later-successional forests. Such diverse strategies may shape the complex forest structure during tropical forest succession.