Cereal grains are rich in phenolic compounds that give beneficial effect in human health. Although several research works have been reported on the effects of phytochemicals of plant origin, such as fruits, vegetables, few studies have examined the antioxidative effects of whole cereal grains. The objective of this study was to determine total antioxidant capacity of 80% ethanolic extracts of cereal grains by testing the ability of the extracts to inhibit UV -induced lipid peroxidation in vitro using linoleic acid in comparison to well-known antioxidant such as ascorbic acid and tannic acid. The total phenolic content of the cereal grain (80% ethanolic extracts) investigated in this study varied from 2.1 mg/g (wheat cv. Olgeurumil) to 10.4 mg/g (barely cv. Seodunchalbori). Highly positive relationship between total phenol compounds and antioxidant activity was found. When the antioxidant activities of all investigated extracts were measured with application of same quantity of phenol compounds, oat grain extracts showed similar antioxidant activity of barely cultivars. However, barely extract appeared as the most potent antioxidant activity of inhibition of UV -induced lipid peroxidation. This indicated that factors such as phenolic compound composition and their individual antioxidant activity could playa crucial role in the total antioxidant activity of cereal grains.