Drought has great influence on the growth, development and yield of spring maize. It is of great significance to clarify the drought characteristics at different growth stages to ensure the safety of spring maize, drought prevention and disaster reduction. Based on the daily meteorological data and data in the growth period spring maize from 42 meteorological stations of Songnen Plain from 1960 to 2016, the daily relative moist index(M)of different growth periods was calculated, and the relative moist index as was taken as a drought index in spring maize growth period, the methods of linear regression, Mann-Kendal test, and correlation analysis were used to analyze the drought variation characteristics of spring maize in Songnen Plain in recent 58 years. The results showed that:(1)the trend of drought showed in the complete growth period, vegetative and reproductive transition period and the reproductive growth period of spring maize in Songnen Plain, and the trend of wetting showed in the vegetative growth period;(2)the drought frequency, intensity and duration had the increasing trend in complete growth period, vegetative and reproductive transition stage and the reproductive growth period, and had the decreasing trend in the vegetative growth period; In the vegetative and reproductive stage, the most serious drought occurred in the 1990s, and the most serious drought in the other growth and complete stages occurred after 2000; the drought degree of each growth period decreased in the order: vegetative growth period>reproductive growth period>vegetative and reproductive stage;(3)the average drought frequency, intensity and duration in all growth period increased from northeast to southwest, and the drought increased from northeast to southwest;(4)the drought variation of spring maize in Songnen Plain was most sensitive to the changes of precipitation, sunshine hours and relative humidity. These results can provide reference for drought forecast, planning of spring maize production in Songnen Plain.