Abstract Recent neuroimaging studies have been trying to investigate the neural correlates of deception. To explore the temporal course of neural activity underlying deception, we recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) while participants were performing the Differentiation of Deception Paradigm (DDP) task to self- and other-referential information. Results showed that lying was associated with increased N1 (parietal–occipital area), N2 (frontal–central area) and decreased P3 (frontal–central area). Moreover, self-referential information elicited larger P2 and P3 compared with other-referential information. Finally, the interaction between stimulus and response types on N2 and P3 suggested that lying about self-referential information is more difficult than lying about other-referential information. These results revealed a temporal course of neural activity regarding executive function underlying deception, which complemented the current understanding of deception from the spatial dimensions.