The objective of this study was to examine the effects of phosphorus starter fertilizer on maize development and phosphorus uptake in soils with different phosphorus levels in order to develop a theoretical basis for the rational application of phosphorus starter fertilizer.Three soil phosphorus levels were set up:low phosphorus soil(LP，P 2.47 mg/kg)，medium phosphorus soil(MP，P 12.35 mg/kg)and high phosphorus soil(HP，P 33.67 mg/kg)，respectively；and phosphorus starter fertilizer(SF)and without phosphorus starter fertilizer(NS)were set up under each soil phosphorus level，making a total of six experimental treatments.The growth-related indicators were determined at the seven-leaf stage of maize.The results showed that the maize plant height，stem diameter，leaf number，net photosynthetic rate of leaves，total root length of adventitious axial roots，dry weight and phosphorus uptake of shoot and root at LP level were significantly reduced by 42.95%～42.98%，49.59%～51.30%，7.32%～9.52%，45.82%～46.84%，37.44%～40.05%，84.81%～84.87%，75.03%～76.02%，83.70%～83.80%，71.86%～72.83%，respectively，compared with those at MP and HP levels.Therefore，the level of soil phosphorus significantly affected the early development of maize. Under the LP and MP levels，the maize stem diameter，leaf area，total root length of adventitious axis roots，shoot and root dry weight and phosphorus uptake of SF treated maize were significantly higher than those of NS，increasing by 14.74%～69.59%，22.58%～140.16%，7.16%～57.27%，12.17%～218.39%，12.10%～193.98%，11.01%～186.13%，25.10%～247.21%，respectively.Furthermore，the favorable effect of SF treatment on maize growth was greater at the LP level than at MP level.SF treatment significantly enhanced the total root length of maize adventitious axis root at the LP and MP levels as compared to NS treatment，but had no significant effect on the root length of unit adventitious axis root.The use of phosphorus starter fertilizer at low and medium phosphorus levels can improve maize growth and phosphorus uptake，providing a theoretical basis for the rational use of phosphorus starter fertilizer in soils with varying phosphorus levels.