Avalanche photodiodes biased above the breakdown voltage are an interesting alternative to photomultiplier tubes in time‐correlated single‐photon counting. The characteristics and performance of a commercially available device (RCA C30921S) have been investigated. The time resolution is found to improve as the excess bias above the breakdown voltage is increased. Full width at half‐maximum values down to 400 ps have been measured with the detector cooled at −40 °C, and down to 460 ps at room temperature. The best results were obtained with an active quenching circuit, suitable for operation with excess bias voltage up to 40 V; at room temperature, fast gated operation was used for attaining optimum performance. Experimental data on the statistical behavior of the avalanche current pulses in these devices are reported and discussed.