This study assessed the enhancement of critical thinking skills acquisition using Higher Order Thinking Laboratory Strategy (HOTLS) and Inquiry Strategy in Senior Secondary School Students in Chemical Kinetics in Makurdi metropolis of Benue State, Nigeria. Three research questions guided the study while three hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Non-randomized pre-test post-test quasi-experimental design was employed. The population comprised 2,145 Senior Secondary Two students (1,222 males and 923 females) across the 16 public co-educational schools out of which 136 (65 male and 71 female) SS two students offering Chemistry in four intact classes were sampled using multistage sampling procedure. The instrument for data collection was Test of Critical Thinking Skills Acquisition (TCTSA). Face validation was done by three experts, two in Science Education, one in measurement and evaluation, all from Rev. Fr Moses Orshio Adasu University Makurdi. The instrument was trial tested and the reliability coefficient of TCTSA yielded 0.77 using Kuder-Richardson formula 20. Research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation while the null hypotheses were tested using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The findings revealed that students taught Chemical Kinetics with HOTLS differed significantly in their mean critical thinking skills scores, there is no significant difference in the mean critical thinking skills scores of male and female students taught with HOTLS, there is no significant difference in the mean critical thinking skills scores of male and female students taught with Inquiry strategy. It was recommended among others that Chemistry teachers should use HOTLS to teach Chemistry to improve critical thinking skills of students.