Abstract <p>Drought is the main stress factor in growing plants. The impact of drought on rice plants manifests itself from a decrease in the accumulation of dry matter to a poor distribution of metabolites from stems and leaves into the grain, which leads to a decrease in the number of completed grains in the panicle, a decrease in the mass of the grain and, ultimately, yield. The varietal diversity of rice includes various drought-resistance genes. The aim of the research was to evaluate dry–growing varieties and rice samples by the presence of the qDTY1.1 drought-resistance gene using the RM431 DNA marker. In terms of yield and drought resistance in periodically irrigated and constantly flooded areas, 66 lines, hybrids and varieties of rice were evaluated. The presence of the drought-resistance gene qDTY1.1 was determined by PCR analysis. As a result of marker analysis, the presence of the qDTY1.1 drought-resistance gene was found in 22 rice samples: An-Yun-Ho, Chang-Chun-Man, Volgograd, Volgograd × Atlant, Stalingrad, etc. The maximum value of the drought-resistance index (DRI) was shown by carriers of the qDTY1.1 gene of Chinese dry varieties Chan-Chun-Man (88.5%), An-Yun-Ho (79.4%) and other samples obtained from hybridization of the Chan-Chun-Man variety with the yielding varieties Boyarin, Komandor, Kuboyar, Razdolny, and Yuzhanin. The isolated samples carrying the qDTY1.1 gene exceeded the other forms, on average, by 0.20 t/ha in terms of yield under drought conditions, 0.21 t/ha in the control, and 3.9% in terms of DRI. In the long-term perspective of increasing the drought resistance of rice, it is necessary to identify and use other QTL with large and permanent effects and key regulators of plant response to stress.</p>