By using a set of recombinant inbred line (RIL) population involving in 195 lines derived from a cross of Zhenshan 97B (lowland variety) and IRAT109 (upland variety), the correlation analysis between coleoptile length (CL) and drought resistance index (DRI) and their QTL identification were conducted. There existed a significantly positive relationship between CL and DRI with the correlation coefficient of 0.2206** under water stress conditions. Under normal and water stress conditions, a total of eleven and four QTLs for CL and DRI, respectively, were detected on chromosomes 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11 and 12 by using a linkage map including 213SSR markers, which explained 4.84% to 22.65% of phenotypic variance. Chromosomes 1 and 9 possessing the QTLs for DRI harbored simultaneously QTLs for CL, and qCL9 shared the same chromosome location with qDRI9 (RM160-RM215). Comparing the QTLs related to drought resistance in other studies, QTLs for CL and DRI were located in the same or adjacent marker interval as those related to root traits, such as number, dry weight, depth, and length of root. Moreover, sixteen and three pairs of epistatic loci for CL and DRI were found, which accounted for 56.17% and 11.93% of the total variation in CL and DRI, respectively.