In the context of global warming, it is of great significance to explore the climate change and drought characteristics of maize growth period for preventing crop loss caused by drought disaster and agricultural sustainable development. Based on the daily observation data of 33 national meteorological stations in Liaoning Province from 1967 to 2018, this study calculated the standard precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) at different growth stages of maize on monthly scales, and comprehensively analyzed the temporal and spatial variation of drought with the combination of drought frequency and drought station ratio. The results showed that:(1) the precipitation in the growth period of maize in Liaoning Province decreased by 13.31 mm/10a, which was significantly positively correlated with SPEI (P<0.01); temperature increased significantly at a rate of 0.25℃/10a (P<0.01), which was negatively correlated with SPEI. (2) In sowing-seedling stage, emergence-jointing stage and bell-mouth stage, SPEI all showed an upward trend, while in tasseling stage and maturation stage showed a downward trend. In terms of spatial variation, SPEI showed an increasing trend from northwest to southeast in the whole growth period. (3) During the whole growth period, the drought station ratio increased at a rate of 0.41%/10a. In the emergence-jointing stage, the ratio of drought stations decreased, while in other growth stages, it increased. The frequency of different drought types manifested as regional drought > partial regional drought > local drought > all regional drought. (4) The drought frequency of the whole growth period showed a characteristic of decreasing from northwest to southeast, and the drought-prone area was mainly in western Liaoning; and the drought frequency showed in order of light drought > medium drought > heavy drought > severe drought. (5) The emergence-jointing stage was the period with the highest drought station ratio; the highest average SPEI and the drought frequency of different grades were both in the sowing-seedling stage. The research results can provide reference for regional agricultural drought risk assessment and disaster mitigation.