Growth should resume in the first or second quarter of 2010, he told the opening session of the four-day International Economic Forum of the Americas here.
The IMF has forecast a 2.5 percent contraction of the world economy this year, with a mild rebound of 1.2 percent next year.
Strauss-Kahn said he thought governments around the world had put forward enough stimulus to help steer the economy back to growth.