Abstract: A thorough understanding of the characteristics of rainfall helps conduct research on runoff simulation, soil erosion, climate change and so forth. In this study, in order to enhance the understanding of rainfall characteristics, six co mmon types of rain gauges (SL3-1, JDZ05, RG-3, Pluvio2, Parsivel2 and JQH-1) were deployed with pairs in the same experimental field, and the rainfall over five months was observed. The results of an intercomparison demonstrated the following:①Under moderate and heavy rain conditions (daily rainfall ≥ 10 mm), the total rainfall measured by SL3-1 and JDZ05 were within the error limit of 4%;however, under light rain conditions (daily rainfall < 10 mm), the total rainfall measured by the tipping-bucket and by weighing types of rain gauges were 4% less than JQH-1;② The frequency of rainfall intensity of ≤ 0.1 mm/min was almost higher than 75% for SL3-1, RG-3, Pluvio2 and Parsivel2, and the proportion of rain was more than 50% when the rainfall intensity was ≤ 0.2 mm/min; ③ The initiation times of rainfall, determined by Pluvio2 and Parsivel2, were 0.5 h and 2 h earlier than SL3-1, respectively, while the termination times of rainfall were 0.5 and 2 h later than SL3-1, respectively. These findings will allow researchers to select appropriate rain gauges to determine rainfall characteristics of interest.