To investigate the effects of cold water stress on major agronomic traits of rice and the differences in cold tolerance among varieties from different geographical origins, this study used 306 japonica rice varieties from 6 provinces (municipalities, autonomous regions) in China and 5 foreign countries as experimental materials. Phenotypic evaluation of major agronomic traits, including days to heading, plant height, effective panicles per plant, grains per panicle, and seed setting rate, was conducted under natural conditions and cold water stress at the Gongzhuling Experimental Base in Jilin Province in 2017 and 2018.The results showed that compared with natural conditions, cold water stress significantly inhibited rice growth and development, leading to delayed heading stage, reduced plant height, and extremely significant decreases in effective panicles per plant, grains per panicle, and seed setting rate. Among these traits, the seed setting rate decreased by 52%, suffering the most severe negative impact. Based on the cold response index (CRI) and stability coefficient (SC) analysis, rice varieties from Yunnan Province, Japan, and South Korea exhibited higher CRI values for yield-related traits, indicating stronger cold tolerance. Rice varieties from Italy, South Korea, Japan, Liaoning Province, and Jilin Province showed lower SC, suggesting stronger environmental adaptability. Cluster analysis indicated that the genetic relationship among rice varieties from most provinces or countries exhibit a certain correlation with the geographical distance and latitude similarity of their germplasm origins, though some exceptions were observed. This study also identified 20 superior germplasms with strong cold tolerance, such as Jingjing 7, Hexi 15, Huajindao, Dianjing 8, and Dalijing 15, providing important material support for cold tolerant rice breeding.