Changes of relative water content（RWC),osmotic adjustment capacity（OA),proline content and soluble sugar content in leaves of five important maize inbred lines（i.e.Huangzaosi,Ye 478,Zheng 58,Han 21,and Qi 319）under drought stress were investigated.The results showed that RWC decreased,OA and soluble sugar content firstly increased and then decreased,and proline content increased gradually under drought stress.Moreover,the traits changed differently among these inbreds,indicating that different germplasm responded to drought stress differently.For instance,they had different OA capacity under drought.During the first seven days,OA increased gradually,with the order of Qi 319,Zheng 58,Ye 478,Han 21 and HuangzaosiHowever,OA decreased afterwards in all of the inbred lines except Han 21Soluble sugars and proline were the major osmolytes in Han 21 and Qi 319,while proline was the major osmolyte in Huangzaosi