Seeds of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and mung bean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek), with orthodox seed storage behaviour, were imbibed for between 8 h and 96 h at 15 °C and 25 °C, respectively, while barley seeds were also maintained in moist aerated storage at 15 °C for 14 d. These seeds and seedlings, together with controls, were then dried to various moisture contents between 3% and 16% (wet basis) and hermetically stored for six months at —20°C, 0°C or 15°C. In both species, neither desiccation nor subsequent hermetic storage of the control lots resulted in loss in viability. The results for barley seeds imbibed for 24 h were similar to the control, but desiccation sensitivity increased progressively with duration of imbibition beyond 24 h in barley or 8 h in mung bean; these treatments also reduced the longevity of the surviving seeds in air‐dry storage. Loss in viability in barley imbibed for 48 h was most rapid at the two extreme seed storage moisture contents of 3·6% and 14·3%, and in both these cases was more rapid at 15 °C than at cooler temperatures. Similarly, for mung bean imbibed for 8 h, loss in viability was most rapid at the lowest (4·3%) moisture content, but in this case it was more rapid at –20 °C than at warmer temperatures. Thus, these results for the storage of previously imbibed orthodox seeds conform with the main features of intermediate seed storage behaviour