ABSTRACTIn this study, aqueous extraction of phenolic compounds from jamun (Syzygium cumini L.) seed was undertaken. The effects of various parameters such as extraction temperature (34.8–85.2°C), extraction time (49.8–100.2 min), and liquid-to-solid ratio (9.8–60.2 mL/g) on the extraction yield, extract purity (i.e., total polyphenol content), and its antioxidant activities (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrlthydrazyl free radical scavenging assay and ferric reducing antioxidant power) were investigated. Response surface methodology was used to optimize the extraction conditions. The optimum extraction conditions (49.2°C, 89.4 min, and 51.6:1 mL/g) produced an extract with 17.3% extraction yield, high total polyphenol content (415 mg gallic acid equivalent/g dried extract) and significant antioxidant activity (IC50: 35.4 ± 0.7 µg/mL). The high-performance liquid chromatography analysis of seed extract revealed the presence of gallic acid (90.8 mg/g dried extract), ellagic acid (36 mg/g dried extract), caffeic acid (26.07 mg/g dried extract), p-coumaric acid (0.26 mg/g dried extract), catechin (9.05 mg/g dried extract), epicatechin (0.42 mg/g dried extract), and quercetin (1.54 mg/g dried extract). Tannic acid (188.5 mg/g dried extract) was also identified as a major phenolic compound. The extraction kinetics was also studied and experimental data were fitted to four kinetic models such as first-order model, second-order model, Peleg’s model, and Minchev and Minkov model, to evaluate their applicability.