Abstract: Hydro-priming is a very important seed treatment technique for rapid germination and uniform stand establishment in various grain crops. The objectives of the study were to evaluate the effect of hydro-priming and hydration media on the germination of dry bean cultivars. Seed performance was evaluated based on germination test, seed moisture content, electrical conductivity and water uptake. The study constituted two set of experiments. The result of the first experiment revealed that seed priming, cultivars, and their interaction were significant (at p = 0.01) for percent germination at the 2nd, 4th and 8th day and normal seedlings percentage at the 8th day. Seeds failed to produce normal seedlings for both 4 and 8 h seed priming treatments, while the control (no priming treatment) produced large percentage of normal seedlings. The second experiment was designed to examine the cause for the failure of germination in the primed seed in the first experiment. There was significant difference between cultivars for germination percent at the 2nd day, while only the media of hydration was significant at the 8th day count. None of the factors were significant at the 4th day. There was significant difference among hydration media and cultivars for normal seedlings at the 8th day, while the interaction was non-significant. Completely immersing the seed in water-filled flask did not cause the failure of germination in the first experiment; rather hydration followed by dehydration treatment was the possible cause. The better performance of the control in both experiments indicated that hydro-priming seems unnecessary in dry bean.