The golden apple snail was introduced to the Korea from Japan as a potential food for people in 1983. It is one of the pests of direct-seeded rice in korea. This study was conducted to investigate rice(Oriza sativa) consumption and the extent of damage by the golden apple snail(Pomacea canaliculata) in direct-sown paddy fields. Food consumption of the golden apple snail was highest at 30℃. When the emergence of the 1st, 3rd, and 5th leave of rice supplied food, the consumption of young(shell height 15㎜) and adult golden apple snail(over shell height 30㎜) at 30℃ were 19.0/79.8, 11.0/54.5, 5.5/18.5, and 0.0/2.0 individuals, respectively. Young rice seedings(before 5th leaves of rice) are very susceptible to golden apple snail damage because the young, tender leaves and stems favor the snail"s feeding habits. The field experiment with four treatments (0, 2, 5 and 10 individuals respectively per 10 ㎡) was carried out. The most serious yield loss was 16% from the plot with 10 adults released at emergency stage of rice.