Background: Return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) is a core outcome element of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), but the definition or criterion of ROSC is disputed and varies in resuscitation for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA).Methods: In this retrospective observational study from a single center in Beijing, we analyzed the records of 126 OHCA patients who achieved ROSC between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020. ROSC duration was defined as the entire time of ROSC from heartbeat or pulse present upon arrival at hospital or arrest again during CPR. The primary outcome was survival at 30 days with favorable neurological outcome. The probability of survival after OHCA as related to CPR duration time was further analyzed using the Probability Density Function (PDF) and the empirical Cumulative Density Functions (CDFs), and compared with ROSC sustained until emergency department arrival and ROSC sustained at least 20 minutes. Results: Among all 126 OHCA patients who achieved ROSC, the median ROSC duration time was 13.6 minutes. There were no significant differences between ROSC sustained until emergency department arrival and sustained at least 20 minutes in the 24-hour survival rate (31.3% [31/99] vs. 35.7% [10/30]; P=0.835), 30-day survival rate (23.2% [23/99] vs. 25.0% [7/30]; P=0.991), or survival at 30 days with cerebral performance category (CPC) 1–2 (18.2% [18/99] vs. 10.7% [3/30]; P=0.435). The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test values from the empirical CDFs with ROSC sustained until hospital arrival and ROSC at least 20 minutes were 0.4444, 0.2000, and 0.2353 for CPC 1 or 2, CPC 3 or 4, and CPC 5 respectively.Conclusions: ROSC duration was directly associated with 24-hour survival, 30-day survival and 30-day survival with favorable neurological outcomes after OHCA. ROSC as a core outcome element of CPR should be defined as sustained at least 20 minutes or until arrival at the emergency department, and as a basic standard for evaluating resuscitation success after OHCA.