Abstract The observed outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) and ERA-Interim data during 1979–2008 (from November to April) were analyzed to reveal fundamental differences between eastward-propagating (EP) and nonpropagating (NP) MJO events across the Maritime Continent (MC). It was found that when the maximum MJO convection arrives near 120°E, a positive moisture tendency lies in a longitudinal zone (10°S–10°N, 130°–170°E) for the EP cases, whereas a negative tendency appears in the same region for the NP cases. In the latter cases, there are clearly detectable westward-propagating Rossby wave–type dry signals over the equatorial central-western Pacific. The dry Rossby-wave signal may hinder the development of new convection to the east of the MJO convective center, preventing the eastward propagation of the MJO. A moisture budget analysis shows that the positive tendency of specific humidity in the EP composite is mainly attributed to the advection of the mean moisture by an intraseasonal ascending motion anomaly, whereas the negative tendency in the NP composite arises from the advection of anomalous dry air by the mean easterly and the advection of the mean moisture by the anomalous easterly. The EP cases were further separated into two groups: a group with, and a group without, a clear suppressed convective phase of OLR to the east of the MJO convection. In the former (latter), the column-integrated moisture anomaly is negative (positive) to the east of the convection. Nevertheless, MJO crosses the MC in both of the groups, in which anomalous moisture tendency is always positive to the east of the MJO convection. Such positive tendencies are caused by different processes. In the former, anomalous horizontal advections associated with eddy moisture transport and mean moisture advection by intraseasonal meridional wind play an important role. In the latter, it is mainly attributed to mean moisture advection by anomalous vertical velocity.