Germinated maize (Zea mays) seeds were used for desiccation tolerance experiment. The seeds started to lose desiccation tolerance at 25℃ after germination for 24 hours. The loss of desiccation tolerance reached 50% and 100% after 33 and 58 hours, respectively. Ultrastructure observation showed that the reserve substances especially lipids in radicle cells decomposed gradually during treatment, while organelles such as mitochondria were well differentiated.