A large area of Iran is located in arid and semi-arid regions; as a result, drought stress is a major problem for the growth of plants. Therefore, it is very important in crop productivity to increase plant tolerance to drought stress. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria such as Azotobacter may enhance plant growth under drought stress conditions by different mechanisms. In this study, a total of 20 Azotobacter strains were isolated and characterized from 77 rhizosphere soil samples collected from semi-arid regions. The strains were screened for the production of siderophore and IAA, solubilization of phosphate and potassium and growth under drought stress in PEG 6000. The strains were identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The efficient strains were tested on the growth of maize (Zea mays) under drought stress by using three levels of irrigation, including 80, 60 and 40 percent of field capacity in greenhouse conditions. The laboratory results revealed that Az63, Az69 and Az70 were the most effective strains in terms of phosphate and potassium solubilisation, siderophore producion and maximum growth in PEG 6000. At 40 percent of field capacity, the inoculation increased shoot dry weight, plant height, chlorophyll content, nitrogen, phosphorous and iron concentration compared to the control. Az63 and Az70 increased shoot dry weight significantly at 60 percent of field capacity.