Objective To explore the duration of residual dizziness after successful canalith repositioning maneuvers in patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) and the possible causes. Methods A total of 60 BPPV patients with successful canalith repositioning maneuver were recruited from Department of Neurology of Changzheng Hospital of Second Military Medical University from Oct. 2016 to Jan. 2017. Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Hospital Anxeity and Depression Scale (HADS), subjective visual vertical (SVV) and ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potential (oVEMP) were evaluated in the BPPV patients suffering from residual dizziness after successful canalith repositioning maneuvers, and their residual dizziness duration was recorded. According to the residual dizziness duration, the patients were divided into short-term group (≤ 7 d) and long-term group (>7 d), and the difference of clinical characteristics was analyzed. Results There were 36 (60.00%) BPPV patients with residual dizziness after successful canalith repositioning maneuver, and 22 (61.11%) cases recovered within 1 week, and 14 lasted for more than 1 week. Compared with the long-term group, VAS and HADS scores were significantly lower (all P<0.05) and reverse deviation incidence of SVV were higher in the short-term group (63.6%[14/22] vs 28.6%[4/14], χ²=4.21, P=0.04). There was no significant difference in oVEMP abnormality rate between the two groups. Conclusion The transient otolithic dysfunction and central readaption play a role in the occurrence of residual dizziness of the BPPV patients after successful canalith repositioning maneuver, and the residual dizziness usually has mild symptoms and a shorter duration. The residual dizziness with a duration longer than 7 days is associated with mental and emotional factors.