Abstract: Rapeseed straw returning has been widely used in the rape-corn rotation area in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. However, there are adverse effects on the corn sowing quality at present. indicators are often used to evaluate the quality of straw return to the field, such as the coverage rate (the proportion of straw covering the surface) and burial rate (the proportion of straw buried in the soil). It is still unclear to fully express the spatial distribution of straw in the soil. In this study, a systematic investigation was implemented to explore the effects of length and spatial distribution on corn sowing quality in rapeseed straw returning. The corn germination rate and plant height were also taken as the evaluation indexes in the experiment. A 2-factor, 10-level, and one-way test was conducted to investigate the effects of rape straw length (6-150 mm) and the spatial distribution of straw in different depths of the soil (0-15 cm) on the corn emergence rate and plant height. The results showed that the emergence rate and plant height of maize decreased gradually and linearly with the increase in rape straw length. Specifically, the emergence rate and plant height increased by 3.83 percentage points and by 1.32 cm for every 1 cm decrease in straw length. The reason was that the long straw caused the soil to shelf, and the large void in the soil led to the aeration and breathability. The moisture conservation reduced emergence and survival rate during seeding and seedling rooting. The shorter the straw was, the greater the displacement of the straw movement was. Correspondingly, there was a higher decomposition rate of short straw than that of long one, indicating more contribution to mixing with the soil. The decomposition of nutrients promoted the development and growth of seedlings; Furthermore, the corn emergence rate reached 100%, and the plant height grew up to 55.84 cm when the length of the straw was taken as the minimum of 6 mm under the same straw mass of the upper (≥0-5 cm), middle (≥5-10 cm) and bottom (≥10-15 cm) straw, (coefficient of variation of the straw mass was 0). At the same time, the corn emergence rate and plant height were determined by the proportion of straw mass in the upper soil layer at the same length of rapeseed straw during uneven mulching. The greater corn emergence rate and plant height were achieved for the lower mass fractions of straw in the upper soil layer; Meanwhile, the corn emergence rate and plant height were determined by the proportion of straw mass in the middle soil layer, particularly in the same proportion of straw mulching mass in the upper soil layer. The smaller stover mass share was observed in the middle soil layer. There was a greater emergence rate and plant height of corn seedlings. The reason was that the straw stacking and clumping often occurred after returning the straw to the field and burying it in the shallow layer of soil because the straw and soil failed to mix sufficiently. The experiment demonstrated that the uniform spatial distribution of straw mass shared a significant effect on the seeding performance. However, there was no correlation between the uniform mulch and the performance of seeding. As such, the burying depth of straw greatly contributed to the water and fertilizer retention in the soil, even the distribution of roots. The continuous growth of roots promoted water and nutrients for the better growth of crops. The degree of straw crushing was improved to reduce the straw mass in the middle and upper layers. While there was an increase in the proportion of straw mass in the bottom layer of the soil. The deep burying of straw was realized to improve the seedling emergence rate and the height of the plant. The finding can provide theoretical support to construct high-quality seed beds for straw return.