Drought, one of the major abiotic stress factor that severely limit grain yield production, often causing extensive economic loss to agriculture. Improving drought tolerance in maize has become one of the top priorities in maize breeding programs. Identification of maize germplasm with superior drought tolerance is an essential and prerequisite for such propose. One hundred maize inbred lines were evaluated under field conditions and 15 inbred lines were identified viz., DMIL101, DMIL103, DMIL112, DMIL117, DMIL122, DMIL125, DMIL129, DMIL130, DMIL136, DMIL140, DMIL145, DMIL147, DMIL150, DMIL152 and DMIL160 that showed high tolerance to drought. Tolerant inbred lines were able to maintain shorter anthesis-silking interval (ASI), low canopy temperature, lower drought susceptibility index (DSI), higher chlorophyll content and comparatively higher grain yield when subjected to drought stress. Whereas, inbred lines viz., DMIL270, DMIL273 and DMIL431 showed wider ASI and recorded lowest grain yield among the inbred lines under water stress situation. Drought tolerant inbred lines identified in this study could be utilized for future breeding programme for the development of drought tolerant maize hybrids. Potential use of these lines to produce maize hybrids that are able to alleviate the negative impacts of drought on growth and development of maize plants is underway.