Interactions between plant viruses and their arthropod vectors can extend beyond transmission and influence vector fitness-related traits. Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV) is one of the most important viral pathogens of wheat and is transmitted by the wheat curl mite, Aceria tosichella Keifer. The objective of this study was to determine whether WSMV influences population growth of the MT-1 lineage of A. tosichella through plant- mediated effects, vector-mediated effects or both. The experiment was conducted on wheat plants (var. Muszelka) under three treatments: (1) aviruliferous mites on healthy plants (control), (2) aviruliferous mites on WSMV-infected plants, and (3) viruliferous mites on healthy plants. In each treatment, five adult females were transferred to single plants. After two weeks, the total population (eggs + motile stages) was counted and used to estimate the population growth rate. Population growth differed significantly (ANOVA, p = 0.0008) among treatments. Both aviruliferous mites on WSMV-infected plants and viruliferous mites on healthy plants showed significantly higher growth rates than control treatment. The two virus-associated treatments did not differ significantly from each other. The findings suggest that WSMV positively influences the population growth of the MT-1 lineage of A. tosichella through both plant- and vector-mediated pathways, which may contribute to increased vector abundance in wheat fields. In conclusion, such positive effects on vector performance could strengthen the epidemiological success of WSMV- A. tosichella pathosystem.