[Objectives]  To improve understanding of the biological characteristics of the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith), an important agricultural pest that invaded China in 2019 and now seriously threatens maize and other food crops, and thereby provide a reference for the prevention and control of this pest. [Methods]  The growth, development and reproduction of S. frugiperda on four different maize varieties; sweet maize (Sida206), waxy maize (Yunongkenuo), sweet waxy maize (Nantiannuo601) and conventional maize (Jiaodianyu501) were investigated during the seedling stage. [Results]  The developmental duration and survival rate of S. frugiperda raised on each of the four maize varieties did not differ significantly; the average development duration was 17.88-18.81 d, and the average survival rate was 70.1%-76.3%. Nor did maize variety significantly affect pupal weight, pupal duration, adult longevity or the number of eggs per female; the average female and male pupal weights were 193.67-214.16 mg and 197.40-200.41 mg, respectively, the average female and male pupal durations were 8.8-9.2 d and 9.4-10.1 d, respectively, the average longevity of female and male adults was 11.0-16.1d and 9.8-13.1 d, respectively, and the average number of eggs per female was 733.3-845.2. [Conclusion]  These results suggest that the growth, development and reproduction of S. frugiperda is essentially the same irrespective of which of four different maize varieties (Sida206, Yunongkenuo, Nantiannuo601 and Jiaodianyu501) larvae feed on during the seedling stage.