This paper uses the diffusion of F1 hybrid rice as a case for examining the effects of education on the adoption of new technology in China. A simple behavioral model that treats the adoption of hybrid rice as a portfolio selection problem is presented. The implications of the model are tested with farm‐level data collected from a sample of 500 households in Hunan Province. The results from a dichotomous probit model and a two‐limit tobit model are consistent with the hypothesis that education has a positive impact on the adoption of new technology.