We present records of 45 beetle species previously unrecorded from the state of Rhode Island, U.S.A., six of which appear to be new to New England. One family, the Cupedidae, is herein first reported from the state of Rhode Island. Newly reported from the state are the species Agonum mutatum (Gemminger & Harold) (Carabidae) and Tricrania sanguinipennis (Say) (Meloidae) which are listed on the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection list of protected species and the 1999 Massachusetts Invertebrate Watch List, respectively. In addition, two carabid species are confirmed extant in RI that are also present on the Massachusetts Watch list, Blethisa quadricollis Haldeman and Agonum darlingtoni Lindroth, known previously in RI from historic records only. These additions bring the total beetle species count for the state of Rhode Island (2,707 km²) to 2,255 species. This total includes all known records of Rhode Island Coleoptera, including historic records of an unknown number of species that may have since been extirpated. This total, therefore, does not necessarily represent a count of beetle species currently present in the state. Prior work by the first author had accumulated recent (post-1995) records for 841 species, of which 356 were new state records. We add to these totals from the second author's collection, 95 additional species collected in modern times that had not been documented from the state in over 60 years, bringing the total number of beetle species documented from Rhode Island in modern times to 981 species—leaving 1,273 historically documented species and 16 families that have not been documented in Rhode Island during the last 50 years.