BACKGROUND: Potassium (K) is one of the macronutrients which are essential for plant growth and development. Its deficiency in paddy soils is becoming one of the limiting factors for increasing rice yield in Asia. METHODS AND RESULTS: To investigate physiological symptoms under K-starvation (NP) compared with complete media (NPK) condition, we measured shoot/root length, weight, nutrients, and patterns of protein expression. The shoot growth was significantly reduced, but root growth was not affected by K-starvation. However, biomasses were decreased in both shoot and root. Uptake of K was reduced up to 85%, while total concentrations of P, Ca, Mg, Na were increased in root and shoot. To better understand the starved K mechanism of rice, comparative proteome analysis for proteins isolated from rice leaves was conducted using 2-DGE. Five spots of differentially expressed proteins were analyzed by MALDI-TOF MS. Analysis of these K-starvation response proteins suggested that they were involved in metabolism and defense. CONCLUSION(s): Physiological and 2-DGE based proteomics approach used in our study results in observation of morphology or nutrients change and identification of K-starvation responsive proteins in rice root. These results have important roles in maintaining nutrient homeostasis and would also be useful for further characterization of protein function in plant K nutrition.