Barley plants growing in the wet paddy field easily encounter suboptimal oxygen concentration in the rhizosphere that causes molecular oxygen deficiency in root cells. The capacity of root cells to utilize energy sources is known to be positively related to resistance to hypoxia stress. This study was conducted to investigate effects of hypoxia on enzymes involved in the starch and sucrose metabolism. Barley seedlings at the third leaf stage were subjected to hypoxia (1 ppm dissolved oxygen) by purging the culture solution with nitrogen gas for up to seven days. The protein content was slightly decreased by hypoxia for 7 days. $alpha-Amylase$ activities increased significantly in the root but not in the shoot after 3 to 7 days of hypoxia. $eta-Amylase$ activities were not affected significantly in both tissues. Additionally, sucrose synthase activities were affected little in both tissues by 7 days of hypoxia. The results indicate that root cells activate break­down of polysaccharide reserves in response to an acute hypoxia to supply energy sources for fermentative glycolysis and cell wall fortification.