The characteristic temporal backscattering signature of rice crop grown under flooded condition was used to estimate rice acreage for a region in West Bengal, India. To date ERS-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data, one acquired within 30 days of transplantation and another after 30-40 days was found to be optimum for early estimation of rice acreage. The rice crop was found to be distinctly separable from forest, tree vegetation, village/urban areas. Misclassification of rice was observed mainly with water, waterlogged areas and fallow fields.