The study of wildlife activity rhythms requires long-term and continuous data collection, which is challenging for animals that are rare, elusive, and sensitive to human disturbance, leading to insufficient understanding of their activity patterns. The efficiency, ease, dependability, and other benefits of satellite-positioning tracking collars make them appealing for tracking and monitoring of wildlife, and the data are increasingly been used to analyze patterns of animal activity rhythms. The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is listed as a ClassⅠ National Key Protected Wildlife of China and is considered Critically Endangered (CR) in China’s Red List. Using satellite-tracking collars, we explored Asian elephant activity patterns in Yunnan Xishuangbanna from June 2023 to May 2024. The activity rhythms of Asian elephant were evaluated using two types of data, activity quantity and movement rate. The Asian elephant with collar had been successfully and effectively tracked for 366 days, and 13 520 data records were collected. Each day throughout the tracking period, the tracked elephant traveled a maximum of 12.79 km, with a daily average of (4.114 ± 0.10) km. Data on the elephant’s daily activity rhythms indicate a distinct bimodal pattern, with the morning hours of 07: 00 - 09: 00 and the evening hours 19: 00 - 21: 00 showing the highest activity levels. Furthermore, analysis of monthly activity rhythm revealed that the elephant’s relative activity intensity varies significantly from month to month (χ² = 490.303, df = 11, P < 0.01), with the activity frequency peaking in April. The daily activity level of the elephant clearly fluctuates with the season. Daily activity intensity increases from summer to autumn to spring and winter. The wet and dry seasons also differed significantly in terms of activity intensity, with the rainy season having lower afternoon activity intensity than the dry season. Although there are differences in the low and peak times of the elephant activity identified by the two data types during each period, the activity rhythm curves produced by the two data show a similar trend. This study provided a detailed description of the activity rhythms based on various collar data and revealed individual activity rhythms and seasonal differences of the tracked Asian elephant. This study serves as an important resource and guidance for future research and management of Asian elephants.