Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) rhizome possessed abundant nutrients such as vitamin C, minerals and antioxidants. The consumption of lotus rhizome is limited in Malaysia due to limited information on its nutritional values. Cooking or heat treatment may cause nutritional changes in the food, however, there is a lack of study on the effect of cooking methods on nutritional contents of lotus rhizome. In this study, the effects of cooking methods (steaming, boiling and deep-frying) on nutritional composition (proximate, vitamin C and minerals) and antioxidant properties (total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, DPPH and ABTS scavenging activity) of lotus rhizome were investigated. Results showed that boiling significantly increased moisture and crude fibre but decreased ash, crude fat and crude protein contents of lotus rhizome. Meanwhile, deep frying significantly reduced moisture and increased ash, crude fat, crude protein, crude fibre and carbohydrate contents of lotus rhizome. Steaming induced no significant changes in moisture, crude protein, crude fat, crude fibre, carbohydrate, vitamin C and mineral (potassium, zinc and copper) contents when compared to the raw lotus rhizome. Boiling significantly reduced the amount of vitamin C while deep frying caused a significant reduction in total phenolic content, total flavonoid content and antioxidant activity for both ABTS and DPPH assays of lotus rhizome. In conclusion, steaming would be the best cooking methods for lotus rhizome while deep frying is not recommended to retain the nutritional composition and antioxidant properties of lotus rhizome.