The growth of rice (Oryza sativa L.) depends on various physiological and metabolic activities of the leaves. The decrease in photosynthesis and carbohydrate metabolism of rice flag leaves under high temperature stress at the flowering stage is an important cause of the loss of rice yields. The addition of exogenous trehalose has a significant effect on alleviating this loss of yields under high temperature stress at the flowering stage. It is highly important to elucidate the physiological reasons for the development of the management of heat-resistant rice. In this study, the heat-resistant rice variety Nagina22 (N22) and the heat-sensitive rice variety YR343 were used as the test varieties. The rice in a pot experiment were treated with high temperature (38 degrees C) and normal temperature (32 degrees C) during the flowering stage, and different concentrations of exogenous trehalose were added before the temperature treatment. The research results showed that under high temperature stress during the flowering stage, the seed setting rate of N22 and YR343 decreased by 42.1 and 82.2%, respectively, and the yield decreased by 53.3 and 81.6%, respectively. Exogenous trehalose significantly improved the photosynthetic and carbohydrate metabolism capacity of flag leaves, thereby enhancing the high temperature tolerance of rice. Among them, treatment with 15 mmol<middle dot>L-1 trehalose had the best alleviating effect on high temperature heat damage in rice, and the yields of N22 and YR343 increased by 32.3 and 86.2%, respectively. This may be due to the increase in pollen activity after exogenous trehalose spraying. At the same time, the activity of antioxidant enzymes is enhanced, the content of osmoregulatory substances increases, but the content of membrane lipid peroxidation decreases, providing a relatively stable physiological environment for various physiological activities of the leaves. In summary, the application of exogenous trehalose can effectively alleviate high temperature heat damage during the flowering stage. There are differences in the results between the two rice varieties, which can provide new strategies for the prevention and control of high temperature prone areas during the flowering stage of rice.