Cultivars of sorghum with different endosperm characteristics were studied with regard to development of alpha-amylase after different durations of steeping and germination at 30 °C. The optimum alpha-amylase activities in all cultivars were observed after steeping for 20 h. The alpha-amylase activity increased rapidly, but at different magnitudes, in most cultivars during germination, reaching a peak activity at 96 h. After 120 h, however, activity was reduced significantly. Steeping for 20 h followed by germination for 96 h was found to be the optimal malting condition for comparative evaluation of diverse sorghum cultivars. A three- to four-fold variation in alpha-amylase and diastatic activities was observed among 29 white seeded Indian cultivars. Alpha-amylase activity and diastatic activity were found to be significantly correlated (r = 0·88) in these cultivars.