DREYFUS INVESTMENT PORTFOLIOS -- EMERGING MARKETS PORTFOLIO

                            SUPPLEMENT TO PROSPECTUS

                             DATED DECEMBER 31, 2000

       THIS INFORMATION SUPERSEDES ANY CONTRARY INFORMATION IN THE FUND'S
                                   PROSPECTUS.

   Effective  January  1,  2001,  D.  Kirk  Henry became the portfolio's primary
portfolio  manager. Mr. Henry has been employed by The Dreyfus Corporation since
May  1996.   He also is senior vice president and international equity portfolio
manager  of  The  Boston  Company  Asset  Management, an affiliate of Dreyfus, a
position he has held since May 1994.

   Mr.  Henry  employs  a  value-oriented, research-driven approach. In pursuing
this   approach,   he   identifies   potential   investments  through  extensive
quantitative  and fundamental research. With Mr. Henry as portfolio manager, the
portfolio  will  focus  on  individual  stock selection rather than economic and
industry trends, emphasizing three key factors:

       .  VALUE, or how a stock is valued relative to its intrinsic
          worth based on traditional value measures

       .  BUSINESS  HEALTH, or overall efficiency and profitability
          as measured by return on assets and return on equity

       .  BUSINESS MOMENTUM, or the presence of a catalyst (such as
          corporate restructuring, change in management or spin-off) that
          potentially will trigger a price increase near term or midterm

   Value  companies  are  companies that appear underpriced according to certain
financial  measurements  of their intrinsic worth or business prospects (such as
price-to-earnings or price-to-book ratios). For international investing, "value"
is  determined  relative  to  a  company' s  home market and/or to its industry.
Because a stock can remain undervalued for years, value investors often look for
factors that could trigger a rise in price.

   The  portfolio  typically will sell a stock when it is no longer considered a
value  company,  appears  less  likely  to  benefit  from the current market and
economic environment, shows deteriorating fundamentals or declining momentum, or
falls short of the portfolio manager's expectations.

   Value  stocks  involve  the risk that they may never reach what the portfolio
manager  believes  is their full market value either because the market fails to
recognize  the stock's intrinsic worth or the manager misgauged that worth. They
also  may  decline in price, even though in theory they are already undervalued.
Because different types of stocks tend to shift in and out of favor depending on
market  and  economic  conditions,  the portfolio's performance may sometimes be
lower  or  higher  than  that of other types of funds (such as those emphasizing
growth stocks).

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