Abstract: The main 8 common maize and 2 waxy corn representative varieties,which were cultivated in the Northeastern region,were selected and fermented by lactic acid bacteria. The water retention capacity,swelling power,solubility and pasting properties of fermented maize were analyzed. The optimal maize variety and fermentative conditions were obtained using the Uniform design according to swelling power variation. The results were as follows: The processing characteristics of maize varieties were significantly different by fermentation.( p < 0.05). Waxy corn varieties of water retention capacity,solubility were significantly higher than common maize( p < 0.05); the swelling power and setback were significantly lower than the common maize( p < 0.05); the peak viscosity and breakdown of common maize decreased,while the waxy corn increased. The uniform design optimization results showed that Zhengdan 958 was the optimal maize variety to fermentation.The largest swelling power( 12.93 g / g) of fermented maize flour was gotten when mixture of Zhengdan 958 variety and solvent ratio1∶ 2( g / m L) had fermented at 37 ℃ for 5d.