Drought is the most serious abiotic stress in rice, and improving its drought resistance via enhancing water uptake capability from deep soil is one of the main objectives in the breeding program. In this study, 2234 cultivated rice germplasm resources from China and abroad were evaluated for drought avoidance using the ratio of deep rooting (RDR) as the index. 131 germplasm with different RDR were evaluated for drought resistance at the reproductive stage. The mean RDR of tested genotypes is 25.8%, ranging from 8.6% to 60.1%. In 25.2% of tested genotypes the RDR was less 20%, and in 47.2% of tested genotypes a RDR was between 20% and 30%, only 6.1% of tested genotypes a RDR was more than 40%. Exotic germplasm collected from abroad, as well as the genotypes from Shanghai, Hunan, and Jiangsu provinces of China were observed with a higher RDR. Less than 1% of the germplasm from Guangdong, Guizhou and Guangxi provinces of China had a RDR over 40%. In general, the landrace germplasm population showed a higher RDR than that of the improved cultivars (lines). In japonica and indica germplasm, 13.2% and 3.7% of tested genotypes, respectively, were observed with a RDR over 40%. There are 33 high RDR geremplasm from Hunan province while one high RDR indica germplasm from Guangdong, Guangxi, and Guizhou, respectively. Considering the spikelet fertility under drought and water conditions, as well as the relative spikelets per panicle and relative spikelet fertility, 26 genotypes showing strong drought resistance were identified, which are good donors for rice drought resistance breeding and gene mining.