The issue of this thesis is to propose a durable management of genetic resistance to wheat leaf rust, based on quantitative resistance. We propose to identify resistance factors reducing pathogen development across the different stages of the infectious cycle. Diversifying constraints exerted by host resistance on the pathogen development should slow down the pathogen adaptation, and increase resistance durability. A set of wheat genotypes was confronted to three leaf rust isolates, and resistance level was measured for five components in the greenhouse (infection efficiency, latent period, lesion size, spore production per lesion, spore production per unit of sporulating tissue), as well as at different stages of field epidemics. Across the germplasm investigated, the resistance components involved were diversified, and their resistance level varied. Developing a statistical model, we established that all the components are involved in the resistance level observed in field epidemics, the most important components being infection efficiency and latent period. The incidence of a component on the field resistance level varied across epidemic stages. The three pathogen isolates used displayed contrasted aggressiveness profiles, according to the different resistance components. QTL mapping of resistance associated to the different components showed that phenotypic diversity corresponded to genotypic diversity.