Abstract: In order to promote the application of maize straw composting technology in cold regions,maize straws were piled up and composted in the field at low temperature with microbial inoculum,chemical nitrogen and a polyethylene film.We studied the temperature,pH,moisture content,electrical conductivity EC and E₄/E₆ during the composting process.The temperature change inside the compost indicated that the compost could start quickly at low environment temperature without additional energy.The curves of pH,water content and E₄/E₆ were bimodal,showing the trend of increase,decrease,increase and decrease.Except that the second peak of water content value was higher than its first peak,the first peak of pH and E₄/E₆ curve were both higher than their second peak.The EC value of the compost underwent decrease,increase,decrease and finally reached a stable value.The correlation between EC,pH,moisture content and E₄/E₆ were not significant.The TN,TP,TK,alkali hydrolyzed nitrogen,available phosphorus,available potassium（K₂O）,organic matter and salt content of maize straw fertilizer were 0.62%,0.13%,1.86%,485.0 mg·kg^-1,115.7 mg·kg^-1,754.7 mg·kg^-1,163 g·kg^-1 and 4.39 g·kg^-1,respectively.The maize straw fertilizer using with chemical fertilizer could meet the needs of crops and vegetables.Therefore,it is feasible to compost maize straw in autumn or early spring in Heilongjiang Province and the other cold regions.