Interest in edible beans as nutraceuticals is increasing. In the present study, the individual phenolic acids, the total phenolic content (TPC), the total flavonoid content (TFC), and the antioxidant and antidiabetic potential of 13 varieties of rice beans from China were investigated. Eight phenolic compounds (catechin, epicatechin, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, vitexin, isovitexin, sinapic acid, quercetin) were analyzed on an ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) mass spectrometry (MS) system. The rice bean varieties had significant differences in total phenolic compounds (ranging from 123.09 +/- 10.35 to 843.75 +/- 30.15 mu g/g), in TPC (ranging from 3.27 +/- 0.04 to 6.43 +/- 0.25 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g), in TFC (ranging from 55.95 +/- 11.16 to 320.39 +/- 31.77 mg catechin (CE)/g), in antioxidant activity (ranging from 39.87 +/- 1.37 to 46.40 +/- 2.18 mu M.TE/g), in alpha-glucosidase inhibition activity (ranging from 44.32 +/- 2.12 to 68.71 +/- 2.19) and in advanced glycation end products formation inhibition activity (ranging from 34.11 +/- 0.59 to 75.75 +/- 0.33). This study is the first report on phytochemistry and biological activities in rice beans.