AbstractPrecipitation retrievals from spaceborne passive microwave (PMW) radiometers are the backbone of modern satellite‐based global precipitation data sets. The error characteristics in these individual retrievals directly affect the merged end products and applications but have not been systematically studied. This paper focuses on extensive and systematic validation of PMW precipitation retrievals and quantification of their error characteristics. Retrievals from 12 PMW radiometers were evaluated and intercompared at instantaneous scale (5 min) over continental United States. These precipitation‐sensing radiometers include both imagers (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Microwave Imager, Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System, Special Sensor Microwave Imager, and Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder) and sounders (advanced microwave sounding unit‐B and Microwave Humidity Sounders). A high‐resolution ground radar‐based data set over the continental United States was used as the ground reference data. The high spatial and temporal resolution of the reference data allows collocation within 5 min and relatively more precise comparison with the satellite overpasses. Our results show that PMW sensor retrievals exhibit fairly systematic biases depending on season and precipitation intensity, with overestimates in summer at moderate to high precipitation rates and underestimates in winter at low and moderate precipitation rates. Retrievals from the microwave imagers have notably better performance than those from the sounders. The latter tend to have a narrower dynamic range, higher biases, and random errors.