An experiment was conducted to find out the effects of drought stress on morpho-physiological characters and antioxidant responses in two spring-sprout Lycoris species(L.sprengeri and L.chinensis).Seedlings were transferred into plastic pots filled with loamy soil and then subjected to a limiting level of water regimes(35%-40% of field capacity).The results showed that:(1)Drought stress caused a significant reduction in leaf relative water content(RWC) and chlorophyll content in both species.(2)There was sustained increase in soluble sugar content,proline accumulation under drought stress conditions in L.sprengeri,while they increased at first,and then decreased in L.chinensis.(3)As the drought stress proceeding,the relative electric conductivity and levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances(TBARS) were increasing,and the highest levels were observed at the end of the drought stress.Moreover,the variation trend in superoxide dismutase(SOD),guaiacol peroxidase (POD),and catalase(CAT) activities increased at first and then decreased in both species.(4)It was also observed that the net photosynthesis(P_n),intercellular CO₂ concentration(C_i) and transpiration rate(T_r) decreased upon drought treatments.These results indicated that drought sensitivities actually differ between L.sprengeri and L.chinensis.L.sprengeri was with higher water conservation,photosynthetic production,osmatic adjustment substances,and antioxidant enzymes,thus was more tolerant to drought stress.