The yield，dry matter accumulation，nutrient accumulation and transport characteristics of spring maize under different cultivation methods were studied to provide a theoretical basis for the efficient utilization of spring maize nutrients. From 2012 to 2013，a two-year located experiment was carried out in Kaoshan Town，Nong’an County，Jilin Province，and three cultivation modes were set up under field conditions，namely，farmer mode(TRA)，optimized cultivation mode 1(OPT-1)，Optimized cultivation mode 2(OPT-2).The tested varieties were all Limin 33.The absorption dynamics of nitrogen，phosphorus，and potassium were determined during the maize the 6th leaf spreading(V6)，the 12th leaf spreading(V12)，flowering(R1)，filling(R3)，mature(R6)stages.The results showed that，in the three cultivation modes，the average yield of two years was OPT-2>OPT-1>TRA.Compared to TRA treatment，the yield under OPT-2 treatment increased by 24.6% and 24.2%，respectively.The average number of ears harvested in the two years under OPT-1 and OPT-2 treatments increased by 65.4% and 81.5%，respectively.The dry matter accumulation under OPT-2 treatment was significantly higher than that under OPT-1 and TRA treatment during the whole growth stages.At the mature stage，the dry matter accumulation under OPT-2 treatment was 10.0% higher than that of OPT-1 treatment and 24.2% higher than that of TRA treatment.From the 6th leaf spreading stage to the maturity stage，the accumulation of nitrogen，phosphorus and potassium increased gradually under all treatments，and the accumulation rate reached the maximum at the anthesis stage.At the maturity stage，the accumulation of nitrogen，phosphorus and potassium under OPT-2 treatment increased by 12.8% and 39.2%，10.4% and 26.1%，12.8% and 27.5%，respectively，compared with that under OPT-1 and TRA treatment，and there were significant differences among different treatments.Under the three cultivation modes，before the anthesis stage，the amount and contribution rate of phosphorus and potassium under OPT-2 treatment were higher than those under OPT-1 treatment.After the anthesis stage，the nitrogen accumulation and contribution rate under OPT-2 treatment were higher than that under OPT-1 treatment.Compared with OPT-1 treatment，the partial productivity of nitrogen，phosphorus and potassium for two years increased by 10.8% on average under OPT-2 treatment. Therefore，on the basis of rationally increasing the density，optimizing the amount of chemical fertilizer and fertilization period could realize the efficient utilization of nitrogen，phosphorus and potassium nutrients in spring maize in the central part of Northeast China，and ensure the sustainability of high yield of maize.