To clarify the effects of exogenous hormones on rice drought stress and its physiological mechanism. Using cultivar rice variety Zhongjiazao 17 as the material, the differences in chlorophyll fluorescence characteristics and the relationship of the yield and yield components were analyzed under the flood irrigation, drywet alternate irrigation, and drought irrigation. The results showed that drought irrigation significantly reduced the maximal photochemical quantum yield of PSⅡ, actual photon quantum efficiency, nonphotochemical quenching, effective panicles, grain number per panicle, and seed setting rate. Compared with tillering stage, rice at booting stage was more sensitive to drought stress and the maximum photosynthetic quantum yield, number of grains per panicle, and panicles per plant decreased more significantly under the same stress time period. After GA3 treatment, the maximum photochemical quantum yield, nonphotochemical quenching and photochemical quenching coefficient of PSII were reduced, which resulted in the reduction of effective panicles, 1 000grain weight and seed setting rate. ABA treatment can relieve the drought stress at booting stage, reduce the degree of photoinhibition in rice leaves, increase the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and enhance drought resistance. Taken together, IBA treatment under flooding conditions at the tiller stage yielded the highest yield, which increased by 7.4% compared to that of  the control. This is related to the increase of photosynthetic efficiency by IBA treatment.