Abstract: ObjectiveThe present study was conducted to analyze the characterization of the genetic diversity among local maize accessions in the North mountain region of Vietnam using ISSR markers. Method The ISSR technique and 10 primers were used to study genetic diversity among 21 maize accessions consisting of 12 normal and 9 waxy maize accessions,collected from 3 provinces in the North mountain region of Vietnam and Laos. ResultA total of 108 ISSR fragments were detected and all of them were polymorphic (100%).Polymorphism information content (PIC) values of ISSR primers ranged from 0.10-0.39.The average PIC value for each primer was 0.24.The resolving power (Rp) value ranged from 14.29-0.48 with an average of 4.48 per primer.All of tested ISSR primers with the exception of ISSR-T1 generated unique fragments (present only in one accession) in 13 among 21 maize accessions.Based on UPGMA analysis,using 70% genetic similarity as the cutoff,a dendrogram was constructed and 21 maize accessions were grouped into three clusters.The similarity coefficients among accessions ranged from 0.52-0.90.Conclusion ISSR markers provided information on genetic diversity of maize accessions which was useful for collection,conservation and breeding programs in Vietnam.