Reduced glutathione (GSH) plays an important role in plant resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. A putative glutathione transporter gene, ZmGT1, was cloned from maize (Zea mays) using RACE-PCR. The deduced ZmGT1 protein is highly homologous to glutathione transporters from other plants. A yeast mutant (hgt1Δ) deficient in glutathione transport was used to characterize the physiological functions of this gene. Complementation by ZmGT1 restored growth of the hgt1Δ mutant strain on a medium containing GSH as the sole sulfur source and also mediated the uptake of a model glutathione conjugate, GS-N-ethylmaleimide (GS-NEM). ZmGT1 was expressed in all organs of maize seedlings, with a higher level of transcript being found in leaves. The expression of ZmGT1 was strongly induced by atrazine with a 4～5 fold increase in transcript level being detected in leaves after 96 h treatment. The strong up-regulation of ZmGT1 by atrazine suggests that this glutathione transporter may be involved in the detoxification of xenobiotics.