In the present study, anthocyanins were extracted from rambutan pericarp tissue (RPT) with 80% ethanol and 1% acetic acid. The crude extracts were chromatographically purified using a silica gel column and an Amberlite XAD-7 resin column. After purification, the total anthocyanin content in the extracts was about 181.3 mg/100 g of fresh RPT. The extracts were stable under low pH conditions (pH 1 and 3). However, the extracts of rambutan anthocyanins (RAcy) degraded at higher temperature. Further, assays of the reducing power, the activity against lipid peroxidation and the ability to scavenge 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), superoxide anion and hydroxyl radicals showed that the RAcy extracts possessed antioxidant activity, indicating that RPT is a good source of natural antioxidants. It can be utilized as health-beneficial compounds rather than just be discarded as agricultural waste.