Improving rice nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUtE) is imperative to maximizing future food productivity while minimizing environmental threats, yet knowledge of its variation and the underlying regulatory factors is still lacking. Here, we integrated a dataset with 21,571 data compiled by available data from peer‐reviewed literature and a large‐scale field survey to address this knowledge gap. The overall results revealed great variations in rice NUtE, which were mainly associated with human activities, climate conditions, and rice variety. Specifically, N supply rate, temperature, and precipitation were the foremost determinants of rice NUtE, and NUtE responses to climatic change differed among rice varieties. Further prediction highlighted the improved rice NUtE with the increasing latitude or longitude. The indica and hybrid rice exhibited higher NUtE in low latitude regions compared to japonica and inbred rice, respectively. Collectively, our results evaluated the primary drivers of rice NUtE variations and predicted the geographic responses of NUtE in different varieties. Linking the global variations in rice NUtE with environmental factors and geographic adaptability provides valuable agronomic and ecological insights into the regulation of rice NUtE. Understanding the variation patterns and the regulatory factors of rice nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUtE) is imperative for ensuring global food security. By synthesizing literature and field survey data, we found that NUtE variability is predominantly linked to factors such as N supply rate, temperature, precipitation, and rice varieties, while further predictions established a strong correlation between NUtE variations across rice varieties and their geographic adaptability. Our findings have significant ecological and agricultural values for the regulation and optimization of rice NUtE.