Maize key inbred line Huangzaosi had been developed in the 1970s in China， exhibiting merits including robust adaptability， high combining ability， compact plant shape， short growth period and fast grain filling. To date， hundreds of maize inbred lines with the genetic components derived from Huangzaosi have formed a core maize germplasm group referring‘ Huanggai’ group（ or Tangsipingtou Group） . The hybrids developed by Huangzaosi and its derived lines have been popularized and cultivated up to hundreds of millions hectares， including the current leading varieties in China， Jingke968 and Zhengdan958. Although this line has played an important role in the maize breeding history in China， its pedigree and origin still remain unclear. Here， according to previous description of the breeding processes of Huangzaosi， we inferred that the white kernel inbred line of Tangsipigtou was initially out-crossed with another maize breeding material with earlier maturation and yellow-colored kernel followed by the backcrossing in the Tangsipingtou field， from which Huangzaosi was finally developed through later artificial selfing and selection. The comparison of DNA molecular fingerprints obtained by the 40 core SSR markers for Huangzaosi， Tangsipingtou and 9 landraces and inbred lines planted in the early 1970′ s indicated that Huangzaosi and Tangsipingtou shared the same 28 SSR loci， and the rest 12 were only identical between Huangsipingtou and Huangzaosi. Whole genome-based IBD genetic structure analysis further demonstrated that Tangshipingtou was the major donor for Huangzaosi， and Huangsipingtou was another parent. In addition， the correspondence comparison of phenotypic and morphological traits confirmed that the phenotypic and agronomic characteristics of Huangzaosi were consistent with the conclusion that it was derived from the crossing of Tangsipingtou and Huangsipingtou. To sum up， this study deciphered the long mystery of the origin of‘ Huangzaosi’ .