The ear length， which associates to the number of grains per ear and the yield production， is one of the important traits in maize breeding. It is of great significance to explore QTL and genes related to ear length traits in its genetic improvement. In this study， two high-generation sister lines showing significant difference on ear length were used to generate a F₂ population and derived F_2：3 population. Both parents and the F₂ population lines were genotyped using the Maize6H-60K Gene Chip. The ear length in the F₂ and F_2：3 populations were measured and subjected for QTL mapping by three statistical methods ICIM， GCIM and dQTG-seq. The results showed that 7 QTLs and 43 QTNs related to ear length were identified by three methods， each of which explained the phenotypic variation of 2.04%-10.24%. A stable QTL qEL6.01 on chromosome 6 was found by different methods. According to the results of gene annotation in the qEL6.01 and the expression profile data of reference genes， five candidate genes Zm00001d035514， Zm00001d035526， Zm00001d035537， Zm00001d035553 and Zm00001d035535 were proposed associating with ear length. Collectively， these results laid a foundation for the future gene isolation and their use in ear length improvement in maize.