Negative-feedback loops between transcription factors and repressors in responses to xenobiotics, oxidants, heat, hypoxia, DNA damage, and infection have been described. Although common, the function of feedback is largely unstudied. Here, we define a negative-feedback loop between the Caenorhabditis elegans detoxification/antioxidant response factor SKN-1/Nrf and its repressor wdr-23 and investigate its function in vivo. Although SKN-1 promotes stress resistance and longevity, we find that tight regulation by WDR-23 is essential for growth and reproduction. By disabling SKN-1 transactivation of wdr-23, we reveal that feedback is required to set the balance between growth/reproduction and stress resistance/longevity. We also find that feedback is required to set the sensitivity of a core SKN-1 target gene to an electrophile. Interestingly, the effect of feedback on target gene induction is greatly reduced when the stress response is strongly activated, presumably to ensure maximum activation of cytoprotective genes during potentially fatal conditions. Our work provides a framework for understanding the function of negative feedback in inducible stress responses and demonstrates that manipulation of feedback alone can shift the balance of competing animal processes toward cell protection, health, and longevity. P rotective responses to cellular stress are coordinated by inducible transcription factors. Tight regulation of stress responses is essential, because they may have consequences for important processes such as growth, development, and reproduction. Negative feedback is a fundamental strategy for regulation of homeostatic processes at all levels of physiology. Simple two-component negative-feedback loops in which a transcription factor induces the expression of an interacting protein that represses the transcription factor are found within responses to diverse stressors, including DNA damage (1), oxidants (2), hypoxia (3), heat shock (4), and infection (5). Although the general importance of repression is recognized, the regulatory and physiological importance of feedback is unexplored.The Cap 'n' Collar (CNC) family of transcription factors orchestrates inducible antioxidant and detoxification responses in animal cells (6). CNC factors activate the expression of genes encoding enzymes that scavenge free radicals, synthesize glutathione, detoxify and export xenobiotics, and repair damage to proteins (6, 7). CNCs promote longevity in invertebrate models (8-11), and increased CNC activity is associated with long-lived and stress-resistant strains of mice (12). The main inducible CNC in humans is Nrf2, which is a popular chemopreventative target for diverse pathologies, including cancer, neurodegeneration, inflammation, asthma, and aging (13-16).Nrf2 is an unstable protein that is targeted for degradation by KEAP1, a Kelch repeat protein that functions as an adaptor for the CUL3 ubiquitin ligase. Oxidative modification of KEAP1 releases Nrf2 and allows it to accumulate and activate a cytoprotective gene expre...