Many recently developed N management strategies have been extremely successful in improving N use efficiency.However,attempts to further increase grain yields have had limited success.Field experiments were conducted in 2007 and 2008 at four sites to evaluate the effect of an in-season root-zone N management strategy on maize (Zea mays L.).According to the in-season root-zone N management,the optimal N rate (ONR) was determined by subtracting measured soil mineral N (NH4+-N and NO3--N) in the root zone from N target values.Other treatments included a control without N fertilization,70％ of ONR,130％ of ONR,and recommended N rate (RNR) by agronomists in China that have been shown to approach maize yield potentials.Although apparent N recovery for the ONR treatment was significantly higher than that under RNR in 2007,grain yield declined from 13.3 to 11.0 Mg ha-1 because of an underestimation of N uptake.In 2008,N target values were adjusted to match crop uptake,and N fertilization rates were reduced from 450 kg N ha- 1 for RNR to 225 to 265 kg N ha-1 for ONR.High maize yields were maintained at 12.6 to 13.5 Mg ha-1,which were twice the yield from typical farmers'practice.As a result,apparent N recovery increased from 29％ to 66％,and estimated N losses decreased significantly for the ONR treatment compared to the RNR treatment.In conclusion,the in-season root-zone N management approach was able to achieve high yields,high NUE and low N losses.