Soil phosphorus (P) deficiency is a major yield-limiting factor in rice production. Employing 526 rice landrace accessions from 5 rice-planting regions and 16 prefectures in Yunnan Province, this paper studied their P-deficiency tolerance characteristics by comparing the relative plant dry weight under acid red soil condition. The results showed that Northwest Yunnan cold highland japonica rice-planting region was most abundant in P-deficiency tolerance core collection of indica, and there was no significant difference in japonica among five ecological zones of rice landraces. Nujiang, Lijiang, Dehong, Wenshan, Xishuangbana and Yuxi were most abundant in P-deficiency tolerance core collection of indica, and Lijiang, Wenshan and Chuxiong were most abundant in P-deficiency tolerance core collection of japonica. Indica had a higher P-deficiency tolerance than japonica. The P-deficiency tolerance of rice was significantly related with its genetic diversity, rice breeding and acid red soils.