Available water is the main limiting factor of crop growth and production in arid environments. Research studies results confirm that root and shoot characteristics play an effective role in drought tolerance of chickpea genotypes. Therefore, investigations on the effect of drought stress on physiological characteristics of chickpea could help recognizing more drought tolerant chickpea genotypes. In order to study the effect of drought stress on variations of chickpea physiological indices, a factorial experiment based on RCBD was conducted with three replications at Research Greenhouse of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. Results showed that crop growth rate and cumulative dry weight under adequate moisture treatment (control) reached its maximum with a delay compared with the drought stress conditions due to continued vegetative growth and assimilate production in control plants. Drought stress significantly (p≤0.01) increased root to shoot ratio and decreased leaf area index at flowering and podding stages. In this experiment, the differences observed in the amount of dry matter accumulation and CGR are mainly due to decreased leaf area index under drought stress conditions, as the NAR remained unchanged under drought stress. Therefore, in selecting process for improved drought resistance of crops, the existence of an appropriate balance between a reduction in leaf area of a cultivar (in order to lower the evapo-transpiration) and an adequate leaf area for photosynthesis is essential.