[Objective] This paper aimed to investigate the effects of cadmium（Cd）stress on physiological and biochemical indexes in different maize cultivars and provide theoretical basis for the study on heavy metal ecotoxicology.[Method] The maize cultivars includeing Tienan 2,Yingdan 11 and Zhengdan 958 which were widely planted in Liaoning Province were selected as the experimental materials.And then the effects of different Cd2＋ concentrations on seed germination,physiological and biochemical indexes of young seedlings were investigated.[Result] The lower Cd2＋ concentration showed some the stimulation effect on seed germination of maize,while the higher concentration had obvious inhibitory effect to some extend.The seed germination of all the maize verities was obviously inhibited when the Cd2＋ concentration was more than 5 mg/L.And with the increasing of the Cd2＋ concentration,the seedling growth,exosmic conductivity and chlorophyll content of the maize varieties with different tolerance to Cd2＋ were distinctly changed.[Conclusion] The resistance of Tienan 2 to Cd2＋ was significantly higher than that of the other two varieties.
