Aim: From the perspective of cognitive load theory, the present study examined the relative effectiveness of the sequential use of L1 and bilingual subtitles on incidental English vocabulary learning. Methods: A total of 162 upper-intermediate Chinese learners of English as a foreign language watched an English clip in one of 4 subtitling conditions: L1-bilingual, bilingual-bilingual, L2-L2, and no subtitles. Results: Results suggested a statistically significant advantage for the L1-bilingual condition over other conditions for word form and meaning recall. The sequential use of L1 and bilingual subtitles also elicited the lowest cognitive load. This study suggests that the viewing sequence that starts with L1 subtitles might increase the efficiency of viewing-based incidental vocabulary learning and have the potential to reduce cognitive load.