This paper studies the issue of state estimation for a class of neural networks (NNs) with time-varying delay. A novel Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional (LKF) is constructed, where triple integral terms are used and a secondary delay-partition approach (SDPA) is employed. Compared with the existing delay-partition approaches, the proposed approach can exploit more information on the time-delay intervals. By taking full advantage of a modified Wirtinger's integral inequality (MWII), improved delay-dependent stability criteria are derived, which guarantee the existence of desired state estimator for delayed neural networks (DNNs). A better estimator gain matrix is obtained in terms of the solution of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). In addition, a new activation function dividing method is developed by bringing in some adjustable parameters. Three numerical examples with simulations are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness and merits of the proposed methods. © 2016 Elsevier Inc.