Abstract: The different soil moisture before sowing on growth and development and yield were studied, and the drought resistance of different cultivars was explored. Taking 8 main summer maize cultivars in Henan as the test materials, effects of soil moisture before sowing on plant height, dry matter, roots and yield were compared under pool cultivation. The results showed that under the treatment of half dose soil moisture before sowing, the decrease of yield and plant biological traits index of‘Zhengdan958’and‘Luoyu8’’was smaller, the decrease of that of‘Liyu16’,‘Zhongke4’and‘Weike702’was bigger, but the decrease of that of ‘Xundan20’,‘Xianyu335’and‘Longping206’was medium. The drought resistance of‘Zhengdan958’and ‘Luoyu8’was strong, the drought resistance of‘Liyu16’,‘Zhongke4’and‘Weike702’was weak, and the drought resistance of‘Xundan20’,‘Xianyu335’and‘Longping206’was medium.