Using linearly polarized 200 fs Ti:sapphire laser pulses the multiphoton ionization and fragmentation of ethylene was studied. A model is proposed which is able to satisfactorily predict the abundance of the different fragments, C 2 H 4 + , C 2 H 3 + and C 2 H 2 + as a function of laser intensity. It is shown that fragmentation of the molecule occurs as a result of multiphoton ionization of inner-valence electrons followed by radiationless transitions to various dissociation channels of the molecular ion.