【Objective】 Shajiang black soil is one of the major types of soil low or medium in productivity in China. As its parent material is dominated with montmorillonite and high in clay content, the soil is high in bulk density and strength and low in water permeability. These characteristics of the soil are the main factors limiting root development and yield of crops. Tillage practices, such as subsoiling and deep ploughing, have been considered as effective management practices to improve soil structure, but their adaptability varies quite significantly with region. How to adopt effective tillage practices to improve soil structure, expand available water capacity, promote root development and increase crop yield is of great significance to safety and stability of the grain production in this region. The objective of this study was to evaluate systematically effects of tillage practices on soil physical properties and maize growth in Shajiang black soil.【Method】A long-term field experiment in the Longkang Farm, Anhui Province was initiated in 2015 and designed to have four treatments different in tillage practices, including no tillage, rotary tillage, subsoiling and deep ploughing. Each treatment had three replicates, making up a total of 12 plots, laid out in a single factor randomized block design. Soil bulk density in the 0 ~ 10 cm, 10 ~ 20 cm and 20 ~ 40 cm soil layers and penetration resistance of the 0 ~ 45 cm soil layer were measured separately at different growth stages of maize. Features of the root system of maize in the soil profile were measured only at the milk-ripe stage. Soil available water capacity, saturated hydraulic conductivity and some other soil physical properties in the three layers were determined separately and yield of the crop was calculated after the crop harvested. At the end, relationships between crop growth with physical properties were analyzed.【Result】1) Compared with the other three treatments, the no-tillage one was higher in bulk density (1.52~1.57 g·cm^-3) and in soil penetration resistance (926 ~ 1 748 kPa ), but lower in soil available water capacity (0.12 cm³·cm^-3) and in saturated hydraulic conductivity (3.5×10^-5 mm·min^-1) in the 0 ~ 40 cm soil layer depth throughout the entire maize growing period. Consequently, the root length density and root dry biomass density in that treatment were significantly declined 42.5% ~ 117.1% and 35% ~ 73.9%, respectively, in the 0 ~ 10 cm soil layer than those in the other treatments. The no-tillage treatment was also 8%~ 12% lower than the others in crop yield for three successive years. 2) Relative to the treatments of rotary tillage and subsoiling, the treatment of deep ploughing was lower in bulk density (1.39 ~ 1.51 g·cm^-3) in the 10 ~ 20 cm soil layer and in soil penetration resistance (725 ~ 1 575 kPa) in the 10 ~ 30 cm soil layer, but higher in saturated hydraulic conductivity in the 0~10 cm soil layer and in soil available water capacity in the 0 ~ 20 cm soil layer. Consequently, the plants in that treatment were higher in root density and crop yield than those in the other two treatments. 3) Pearson correlation analysis shows that plant root density was significantly and negatively related to soil bulk density (r= -0.74**, P< 0.01) and soil strength (r= - 0.73**, P < 0.01) for the whole growing period.【Conclusion】It is, therefore, concluded that the deep ploughing may be a more appropriate tillage practice to improve soil physical properties and promote crop agronomic performance in the Shangjiang black soil.