Orthogonal experiments were designed to study the effects of temperature and velocity on the mechanical characteristics of brown rice, and the crack additional percentage of brown rice changing with drying condition and moisture content. The results showed that the modulus of elasticity was effected by both moisture content and drying conditions. The crack additional percentage of brown rice dried by superheated steam was closed to that of brown rice dried by hot air. Compared with conventional hot air drying, the crack additional percentage of brown rice dried with superheated steam was not worsen although the high temperature used, which had the advantages of higher drying rate and lower energy consumption. It was concluded that the superheated steam drying was a potential technology for drying rice.