Antioxidant activities and the lipid-decreasing ability of oat (Avena sativa L.) rice wine were investigated. Oat rice wine showed stronger metal chelating capacity, reducing power, and inhibition of lipid peroxidation than glutinous rice wine. The concentration of polyphenols (153.74 μg ml^-1) in oat rice wine also exceeded that in glutinous rice wine. Oat rice wine of the three dosages in this experiment increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) activities, while decreasing the malondialdehyde (MDA) content, total blood cholesterol and triglyceride level, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities in high-fatty mice. A medium dose (0.3 ml d^-1) of oat rice wine could reduce the contents of blood lipid and prevent liver damage. Oat rice wine also manifested stronger antioxidant activity than glutinous rice wine and was effective in decreasing the total cholesterol and triglyceride level in blood and ameliorating the fatty liver in vivo.