As part of an irrigation study evaluating impacts of irrigation method (drip versus furrow) and irrigation scheduling on Acala cotton growth and yield, cotton plants were partitioned into lower canopy, mid-canopy and upper canopy fruiting positions in order to evaluate irrigation treatment impacts on specific fiber quality characteristics. The strongest impacts of irrigation management on micronaire and strength were largely through impacts on the number of late-season bolls with limited time for development (high water treatments) and in late-season water stress impacts on the duration of fiber development (in low water treatments). Patterns of water stress impacts on fiber quality were similar under subsurface drip and furrow irrigation. Although not very large in magnitude, there was a trend toward more limited impacts of water stress on fiber strength and micronaire under the most water-stressed high-frequency drip irrigation than with the most-stressed furrow irrigation treatments.