In order to systematically explore and better understand the structure-activityrelationship (SAR) of a diarylmethane backbone in the design of potent uric acid transporter 1 (URAT1) inhibitors, 33 compounds (1a–1x and 1ha–1hi) were designed and synthesized, and their in vitro URAT1 inhibitory activities (IC50) were determined. The three-round systematic SAR exploration led to the discovery of a highly