Purple corn （Zea mays L.） is rich in anthocyanins and other functional phytochemicals， making it highly valued in the function food and pharmaceutical industries and contributing significantly to the economic benefits of the corn industry. To explore the regulatory mechanisms underlying anthocyanin biosynthesis in purple corn， we identified 83 anthocyanin biosynthetic genes （ZmABGs） using a bioinformatic approach. These genes were classified into five groups using phylogenetic tree and were widely and randomly distributed on 10 chromosomes. Analysis of cis-acting elements in the promoters of ZmABGs indicated that these genes may be involved in hormone signaling pathways and responsive to various stresses. Additionally， transcriptional analysis across different tissues revealed that more ZmABGs genes were expressed in pollinated organ samples than in un-pollinated ones， especially in the corn pericarp. qRT-PCR showed that the upregulation of regulatory genes （ZmPAP1-b and ZmLBD38-a） together with their target structural genes （such as ZmF3H-b， ZmDFR-b， ZmCHS-b， ZmF3′H-b， ZmPAL1-b， ZmPAL1-i and ZmC4H-c） might promote anthocyanin accumulation in the early developmental stages （10-34 days） of Zi 2-1. In contrast， the downregulation of these ZmABGs occurs at late developmental stages （34-46 days）. Collectively， our results provide insight into the genetic mechanisms and regulatory networks governing anthocyanin accumulation in maize， offering a theoretical basis for promoting the breeding of high anthocyanin maize varieties.