Abstract  There are three species of wild rice,which are wild relatives of the cultivated rice and listed in endangered plant species in China^[7].They are distributed  in  humid  areas  of  tropical  and subtropical regions in eight provinces of southern  China. Recently,human disturbance and  destruction  of  habitats  have  led  to  the  extinction of a great number of populations,of which Oryza rufipogon Griff.  is  the  most  endangered  species.   In  this  paper,their  biological and ecological characteristics  were  described  and  the  plant communities were also studied.   Meanwhile, the  endangered status and the   reasons  of  wild rice  in  China were  discussed.