Linear relationships between radical scavenging activity and insoluble bound, total phenolic content confirm that insoluble bound, total phenolic contents may be major responsible compounds for the radical scavenging activity against DPPH. On the other hand, weak correlation of free and soluble conjugated phenolics and total anthocyanin and radical scavenging activity indicated that small portions of soluble fractions contributed less to the antioxidant activity in coloured rice. Significant amounts of bound phenolics rather than free and soluble conjugated phenolics mainly contributed to the radical scavenging activity of coloured rice cultivars. Thus, this research finding demonstrated the importance of bound phenolicin in the radical scavenging activity of coloured rice samples.