Using Jidan 198 as material, effects of different lacking water treatments on plant characters, pho-tosynthesis physiology and yield were studied with pot cultivation at maize seeding stage and jointing stage. Re-sults indicated that lacking water at seeding stage and jointing stage reduced plant height, leaves area, dry crownweight and root weight. But lacking water treatments at seeding stage increased root length. Photosynthetic rate in-creased in slight and medium lacking water treatments at seeding stage and filling stage, but it decreased in seri-ous lacking water treatments at seeding stage and lacking water treatments at jointing stage. Yield decreased by 1.47% and 1.90% in slight and medium lacking water treatments at seeding stage, but the differences were not sig-nificantly compared with the control. Yield of other treatments were significantly lower than the control. When thesoil water content was more than 50% of field moisture capacity, irrigation was not needed because plant growthwas inhabited but root growth increased and yield not largely influenced. At jointing stage, water stress influencedvegetative growth and young ear differentiation, so maize should be irrigated when soil water content was less than 70% of field moisture capacity.