Germinated brown rice (GBR) is rich in nutrients, but its rapid starch digestibility after germination is not conducive to human health. Thermal treatment has been proven to be an efficacious approach to reduce the digestibility of starch. In this study, a high‐temperature air fluidization (HTAF) treatment was employed, and its effects on the starch texture, rheological properties, and in vitro digestibility of GBR at 110–150°C were investigated. The results indicated that starch gelatinization played a major role in altering the properties of GBR in thermal processing. During thermal treatment, starch gelatinization partially occurred, and the connection between the chemical bonds became loose, as determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Raman spectroscopy, respectively. Accordingly, the crystal structure of GBR changed from A‐type to A + V‐type as determined by X‐ray diffraction (XRD). Meanwhile, the pasting viscosity and gelatinization temperature of GBR increased significantly. Furthermore, changes in the crystal properties, granule structure, and gelatinization of the starch induced a reduction in the digestibility of GBR. After HTAF treatment at 110, 130, and 150°C, the SDS levels of GBR increased by 5.70, 7.76, and 8.91%, and those of RS increased by 4.03, 7.97, and 11.61%, respectively, whereas those of RDS decreased by 9.73, 16.73, and 20.52%, respectively.