Techniques for performing rank-dependent precoding for a Mulitple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) transmission are described. Each rank may be associated with a set of at least one precoding vector or matrix that can provide good performance for that rank. A transmitter may obtain a precoding vector for a rank-1 transmission from a first set containing at least one column vector of a unitary matrix, e.g., a Fourier matrix. The transmitter may perform precoding for the rank-1 transmission based on the precoding vector. The transmitter may obtain a precoding matrix for a rank-2 transmission from a second set containing an identity matrix. The transmitter may perform precoding for the rank-2 transmission based on the precoding matrix. For the rank-2 transmission, the transmitter may select the identity matrix as the precoding matrix if a MIMO channel resembles a diagonal channel (which may be determined based on antenna configurations) and may select the unitary matrix otherwise.