The classification and spatio-temporal distribution of maize chilling damage intensity in the three provinces of Northeast China were studied using the daily meteorological data from 1961to 2013, the chilling damage data presented in the Industry Standard:Technical Specification of Northern Spring Maize Chilling Damage Assessment (QX/T167-2012) as well as by empirical orthogonal function (EOF) and rotated EOF method. The results showed that the maize chilling damage intensity in the three provinces of Northeast China showed significant spatial difference, which could be divided in three categories:the regional consistency type, the anti-phase distribution type between northern and southern parts, and the anti-phase distribution type between eastern and western parts. The maize chilling damage intensity in the three provinces of Northeast China showed a consistent fluctuating pattern and a decreasing trend from 1961 to 2013. The maize chilling damage intensity displayed a significant regional difference, separating three sub-regions based on maize chilling damage intensity, i.e., the sub-region with the strongest chilling damage intensity including Heilongjiang Province and the northern part of Jilin Province (I sub-region), the sub-region with the intermediate chilling damage intensity including the southern part of Jilin Province and the northern part of Liaoning Province (Ⅲ sub-region), and the sub-region with the lowest chilling damage intensity in the southern part of Liaoning Province (Ⅱ sub-region). The results presented herein will provide the scientific reference for maize chilling damage division and help establish countermeasures for coping with the negative effects of the maize chilling damage.