The NPR1, a diseaseresistant regulator, plays a key role in plant systemic acquired resistance. In our study, we cloned the gDNA and cDNA sequence of ZmNPR1 (GenBank accession number is MH619241) from a maize resistant inbred line D863F. It was found to contain a 1 866 bp open reading frame(ORF), which may encode a 621 amino acid polypeptide with a protein molecular weight of about 67.61 kD and a theoretical isoelectric point of 5.46. Phylogenetic analysis showed that ZmNPR1 was closely related to SbNPR1 of sorghum with 97% similarity. Real time quantitative PCR analysis showed that ZmNPR1 expression could be induced by rice blackstreaked dwarf virus (RBSDV) and significantly upregulated in leaves. Meanwhile, ZmNPR1 was expressed in leaves, stems, roots, tassels, ears and silks, and highly expressed in ears and leaves. The results indicated that ZmNPR1 may play an important role in the maize rough dwarf disease (MRDD) resistance.