Summary During meiosis, recombination‐mediated pairing and synapsis of homologous chromosomes begin with programmed DNA double‐strand breaks (DSBs). In yeast and mice, DSBs form in a tethered loop–axis complex, in which DSB sites are located within chromatin loops and tethered to the proteinaceous axial element (AE) by DSB‐forming factors. In plants, the molecular connection between DSB sites and chromosome axes is poorly understood. By integrating genetic analysis, immunostaining technology, and protein–protein interaction studies, the putative factors linking DSB formation to chromosome axis were explored in maize meiosis. Here, we report that the AE protein ZmASY1 directly interacts with the DSB‐forming protein ZmPRD3 in maize (Zea mays) and mediates DSB formation, synaptonemal complex assembly, and homologous recombination. ZmPRD3 also interacts with ZmPRD1, which plays a central role in organizing the DSB‐forming complex. These results suggest that ZmASY1 and ZmPRD3 may work as a key module linking DSB sites to chromosome axes during DSB formation in maize. This mechanism is similar to that described in yeast and recently Arabidopsis involving the homologs Mer2/ZmPRD3 and HOP1/ZmASY1, thus indicating that the process of tethering DSBs in chromatin loops to the chromosome axes may be evolutionarily conserved in diverse taxa.