In recent years, pomegranate fruit (Punica granatum L.) has taken great attention for its health benefits. Fruits are widely consumed fresh and in processed forms as juice, jams and etc. Pomegranate peel, a by-product of the commercial juice industry, is a rich source of polyphenol compounds. The objective of this research was to investigate and compare polyphenol compounds and antioxidant activity of six cultivars pomegranate fruit peels grown in Iran. In the present study, we evaluated total phenolics, total tannins, condensed tannins and antioxidant activity in ‘Aghaye’, ‘Faroogh’, ‘Rabbab-e-Fars’, ‘Shahvar’, ‘Shirin-e-Bihaste’ and ‘Shirin-e-Mohali’. The results showed that the significant differences (p < 0.05) were detected in all measured traits of pomegranate cultivars. The total phenolic content (mg tannic acid/g dry matter) varied from 380.06 to 441.18 in ‘Rabbab-e-Fars’ and ‘Shirin-e-Bihaste’, respectively. The values of total tannins (mg tannic acid/g dry matter) ranged from 170.09 (‘Aghaye’) to 220.98 (‘Shirin-e-Bihaste’). The concentration of condensed tannins (mg catechin/g dry matter) was varied from 2.94 (‘Shahvar’) to 4.03 (‘Rabbab- e-Fars’). The highest antioxidant activity was observed in ‘Shirin-e-Bihaste’ (84.50%), while the lowest value was found in ‘Rabbab-e-Fars’ (79.78%). The antioxidant activity was positively correlated with total phenolics (r =0.938), total tannins (r =0.924) and condensed tannins (r =0.773). We concluded that the large amount of phenolics and tannins in pomegranate peels provides a good potential as a health supplement rich in natural antioxidants and merits further intensive study

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