This paper presents the description of the Tropical Ocean-Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE) rain rate database and its different spatial and temporal variability characteristics. Accuracy and reliability of this database are evaluated with the position of the appropriateness of its use for the practical (ground truth, beam filling error for the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) and theoretical (spectral estimation) problems. The following is shown in this paper: the concentration of a significant power in the origin of the frequency axis in the temporal spectra; the existence of a diurnal cycle (which has a range of variation of about 1.43 to 2.03 mm/h); the distinction between the north-south and east-west transport of rain, reflected in the two-dimensional spectrum and correlation function of the spatial field, and character of its anisotropy; the scales of the differences between the corresponding estimates of the TOGA and Global Atmospheric Research Program (GARP) Atlantic Tropical Experiment (GATE) data. The documentation of the TOGA COARE database is given. Methodology and software (in IDL and Fortran languages) for management of the TOGA COARE database system and for estimating of different variability statistics were developed. The results obtained can be used for choosing any subset appropriate for the particular rain analysis study, for rain modeling, for comparison with corresponding estimates of other sources of data (satellite or simulated by physical models), and for solving some other scientific and engineering problems connected with rain measurements and modeling.¿ 1997 American Geophysical Union