A field experiment entitled “Performances of some improved rice varieties under direct seeded rainfed upland condition of Nagaland” was conducted to study the growth and yield performance under rainfed condition of Nagaland, at the School of Agricultural Sciences, Medziphema, Nagaland University, during kharif season of 2022-23. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three replications. Treatments viz., Kopilee, Jyoti Prasad, Dikhow, Joya, Chilarai, Kolong, Disang, Bishnu prasad, Luit, Lachit, and Leikhumo were studied. All the tested varieties were found to be semi-dwarf and dwarf varieties developed by Assam Agricultural University except Lekhimo (Nagaland local). In terms of growth and yield attributes, there were significant variations among different rice varieties. Leikhumo recorded significantly higher plant height (115.27 cm) among the tested varieties with the lowest, recorded in Bishnu prasad (74.01 cm). Chilarai showed superior parameters in terms of number of green leaves plant-1 (8.17), plant population m-2 (158), number of panicles m-2 (130), number of filled grains panicle-1 (124.33), test weight (25.55 g) and harvest index (42.95%), with Disang being the lowest viz., number of green leaves (6.06), plant population (110), number of panicles m-2 (91), number of filled grains (70.33), test weight (19.36 g) and harvest index (28%). In terms of crop growth rate and relative growth rate, Leikhumo performed the best whereas Disang variety was found inferior amongst all the varieties. Panicle length was also found to be highest in Leikhumo (26.20 cm) and the lowest in Disang (19.46 cm). Maximum grain yield was recorded in Chilarai (34.37 q ha-1 ) followed by Joya (31.92 q ha-1 ) and Leikhumo (29.62 q ha-1 ).