The properties of Zizania latifolia materials were studied to solve the problems of lacking theoretical basis in the design and simulation analysis of mechanical equipment for processing and harvesting Zizania latifolia. A texture analyzer was used to conduct static load compression experiments on Zizania latifolia to obtain the stiffness， failure strength， and elastic modulus of Zizania latifolia under different directions of compression and compression rates. A scanning electron microscope（SEM） was used to obtain the microstructure of Zizania latifolia and analyze the intrinsic mechanism of the differences in the mechanical properties of Zizania latifolia under different directions of compression. The results showed that Zizania latifolia was anisotropic material， with the average stiffness values in the X， Y and Z axis of 37.88， 36.66 and 50.82 N/mm， respectively. The average failure strength were 0.74 MPa， 0.72 MPa， 0.88 MPa， respectively. The average modulus of elasticity was 1.73 MPa， 1.61 MPa， 2.33 MPa， respectively. The direction of compression had an extremely significant effect on the stiffness， elastic modulus and failure strength of Zizania latifolia（P<0.001）. The effect of compression rate on stiffness， elastic modulus， and failure strength within the range of 30-70 mm/min was not significant （P>0.05）. The microstructural features in the X-axis and Y-axis directions were similar but different from those in the Z-axis direction. The distribution of pores along the X-axis and Y-axis directions resulted in the smaller values of mechanical properties of compression in these two directions. It will provide theoretical reference for the packing， storage and mechanized production of Zizania latifolia.