Resumo. The oiticica (Licania rigida Benth) is a perennial tree species, oilseed, which has great importance in the semiarid region of Northeastern Brazil by preserving the river margins and the temporary stream. Due to the lack of information regarding the desiccation of oiticica seeds, the study aimed to evaluate the physiological quality of its seeds submitted to different drying periods. The experimental design was completely randomized and the data were submitted to analysis of variance and polynomial regression. The treatments were evaluated by determining the moisture content, seedling emergence, vigor tests (first count, emergency speed index, fresh and dry weight of shoots and roots), and grown analysis (number of leaves, seedling height and stem diameter). Oiticica seeds behave as orthodox, with increase on the emergency when its moisture content is reduced; the critical moisture content below which there is loss of viability is around 6%.