[Objective] By investigating of change rule rice starch RVA profile properties and the influence of cold tolerance on rice quality,the aim was to provide scientific references to the breeding of new cold-tolerant japonica rice varieties with high quality in the Yunnan plateau.[Method] Four cold-tolerant and five cold-sensitive japonica rice cultivars were grown at three locations with different altitudes in Yunnan plateau to investigate rice starch RVA profile characteristics.[Result] The results showed that with increasing altitude,the setback viscosity in cold-sensitive cultivars increased significantly,while the peak viscosity and breakdown viscosity decreased significantly.However,the peak viscosity and breakdown viscosity in cold-tolerant cultivars initially decreased and then gradually increased with rising altitude,whereas the setback viscosity initially increased and then decreased.[Conclusion] The starch RVA parameters of cold-tolerant cultivars were less sensitive to different environments than those of cold-sensitive cultivars.Cooking and eating quality of cold-tolerant cultivars had relatively stable trends with rising altitude,whereas cooking and eating quality of cold-sensitive cultivars had a trend toward inferior.