Let A be a simple abelian variety of dimension g defined over a finite field F q with Frobenius endomorphism π. This paper describes the structure of the group of rational points A(F q n ), for all n ≥ 1, as a module over the ring R of endomorphisms which are defined over F q , under certain technical conditions. If R is a Gorenstein ring, then A(F q n ) ∼ = R/R(π n − 1). This includes the case when A is ordinary and has maximal real multiplication. Otherwise, if Z is the center of R and (π n − 1)Z is the product of invertible prime ideals in Z, thenFinally, we deduce the structure of A(F q ) as a module over R under similar conditions. These results generalize results of Lenstra for elliptic curves.