Physico-chemical properties of milled rice grains of 13 japonica varieties were evaluated. The rice varieties differed in appearance. One sample had long grains (6.61 mm), two had short grains (5.27-5.32 mm) and the rest had grains of medium length (5.52-6.55 mm). The shape (length/width) of grains varied from bold (1.58-1.9) to medium (2.06-2.37). The protein content was high in all samples (7.82 to 9.72% on dry mass). Almost all, with exception of one cultivar (Osogovka), which had intermediate amylose content (23.3%), were low amylose varieties (12-19.4% amylose). Their minimum cooking time varied from 17.5 to 22.5 min. Significant correlations (P < 0.05) were established between some physico-chemical characteristics of evaluated rice culti-vars. Elongation during minimum cooking time was correlated with protein content (r = 0.6899), shape (-0.7137), thickness (0.7234) and width (0.9134) of grains. The rice flour paste viscosity correlated significantly with shape (0.6148) and length (0.7353) of grains. On the basis of the established results, it was concluded that appearance of milled rice could be used as indicator for predicting gelatinization behavior: elongation ratio (length after minimum cooking time/length of the grains) of the rice grains and viscosity of rice flour during cooking. 3 Corresponding Results from this research constitute a useful tool to predict the gelatini-zation behavior of milled grains and flour of japonica rice varieties, on the basis of grain appearance. The appearance is critical in acceptability of rice varieties by the consumers. The possibility to predict rice grain behavior during cooking on the basis of its appearance could be an additional attribute or market value for consumer choice. The results could be used in selection of rice variety for rice grits or flour production and use in special applications.