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The ubiquitin-specific protease (UBP) family represents a type of deubiquitinase (DUB) that plays a significant role in plant abiotic stress responses, growth, and development. Although <i>UBP</i> genes have been characterized in many species, a genome-wide systematic analysis and the potential functions under abiotic stresses have not yet been reported in rice (<i>Oryza sativa</i> L.). In this study, we identified 21 <i>UBP</i> gene family members in the genome of rice, all of which had UCH domains containing short but highly conserved Cys-box and His-box. The DUF4220 and DUF594 domains, which are found in monocotyledonous plants, were unique. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that <i>OsUBP7</i> and <i>OsUBP12</i> genes had the closest genetic relationships with <i>AtUBP12</i> and <i>AtUBP13</i>, implying that <i>OsUBP7</i> and <i>OsUBP12</i> might have similar biological functions to <i>AtUBP12</i> and <i>AtUBP13</i>. Synteny analysis revealed that <i>OsUBP</i> genes were expanded through segmental duplication under purifying selection. Meanwhile, they had closer evolutionary relationships with monocotyledonous plants. Additionally, all <i>OsUBP</i> genes had an ABRE <i>cis</i>-element, which was related to abscisic acid (ABA) stress hormone response. Protein interaction analysis suggested that OsUBP22 might modulate gene regulation through OsGCN5- and OsADA2-mediated chromatin modification, and OsUBP10 might regulate salt stress through modulating OsDNA2_4 stability. Specifically, the expression profiles and the transcriptional levels of 11 representative <i>OsUBPs</i> suggested the potential important functions of <i>OsUBP9</i> and <i>OsUBP17</i> under drought and cold stresses. Taken together, our study provided a systematic analysis of <i>OsUBPs</i> and preliminarily explored their potential roles under abiotic stresses. Our results lay a foundation for further research on the functions of the <i>OsUBP</i> gene family under abiotic stresses.