Abstract:Objective To investigate the clinical features of recurrent anti-NMDA receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis. Methods Totally 18 recurrent anti-NMDAR encephalitis patients and 27 non-relapsing anti-NMDAR encephalitis who were admitted into West China Hospital during December 2014 to December 2017 were selected. Clinical features, treatment, clinical outcome and prognosis were recorded. Results In recurrent group, 9 (50%) cases presented as typical anti-NMDAR encephalitis and 4 cases (22.2%) presented as status epilepticus (SE). In non-recurrent group, 7 (26%) cases presented as typical anti-NMDAR encephalitis and 4 cases (14.8%) presented as status epilepticus (SE). No obvious difference in clinical manifestation was identified between 2 groups (P?>?0.05). No obvious difference in number of pleocytosis, protein concentration in cerebrospinal fluid, abnormal EEG and abnormal MRI were identified in two groups (P?>?0.05). Relapses rate was closely associated with tilter more often in CSF but not in serum (P?=?0.000). Rate of complete recovery accounted for 72% in relapsing patients, and that was 85% in non-relapsing patients. There was no significant difference between two group (P?> 0.05). Conclusions There is no difference in the initial clinical features between patients with recurrent and non-recurrent disease. There is no exact relationship between the status of epilepsy and the recurrence and prognosis. CSF anti-NMDA receptor antibodies are more sensitive than serum anti-NMDA receptor antibodies in assessing recurrence. The recurrence of anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis has no significant effect on clinical outcomes. Early use of immunotherapy and combined second-line immunotherapy can improve clinical outcomes, but is not associated with a reduction in the recurrence rate of anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis.