Maize has become the most widely planted crops in China and improving maize stress tolerance is one of major target traits for maize breeding. C2H2 zinc finger proteins are widely involved in growth development and stress response in plants. In this study, the transcription factor ZmC2H2-1 gene was isolated from maize and its function was investigated. Our data showed that ZmC2H2-1 belonged to C2H2 transcription factor family, mainly located in the nucleus, and cannot self-activate in yeast. Drought, salt and ABA can inhibit ZmC2H2-1 expression in maize. The water loss rate of excised-leaves was faster in ZmC2H2-1-transgenic Arabidopsis than that in WT. When treated with PEG, high salt and ABA, the stress tolerance was more sensitive in ZmC2H2-1-transgenicplants than WT. These data showed that ZmC2H2-1 played a negative role in stress tolerance in maize. Collectively, this study provides important information for us to analyze ZmC2H2-1 regulatory network and mechanism of stress tolerance in maize.