Maize （Zea mays L.） is the most important food and feed crop which plays an important strategic role in food security in China. Maize is the monoecious plant species， tassel is panicle and ear is spadix. The differentiation and development of inflorescences and florets are the basis for the number and fertility of florets in maize ultimately resulting in a formation of grain yield. Therefore， this research field is of significant interest and fruitful achievements have been made. In the past few years， in order to improve maize grain yield and further analysis the molecular network of yield formation， the latest progresses in the field of genetic modulation and regulatory mechanism on inflorescence branching and kernel number have been reported. In this paper， we briefly summarize our understanding of the genes and their acting pathways in the development of inflorescence branches， spikelets and florets. This review focuses on the inflorescence-specific transcription factors， non-coding sequences and their regulators， enzymes involved in the reactive oxygen species （ROS） scavenging and carbohydrate metabolism， key factors in ethylene biosynthesis and signal pathway， and major players in membrane system and signal transduction. And we make prospects for the development of biotechnology to promote whole genome sequence analysis， interaction network analysis of hormones and metabolites， and precision breeding. We aim to provide an insight in understanding of the crucial genetic factors and pathways controlling inflorescence development， which has implications for future research on the genetic regulatory network of inflorescences and florets， as well as on the high-yield breeding in maize.