A market cycle in which the overriding trend is down. Typically, it starts with a market crash that lasts for a couple of years or so, and is succeeded by a rally of four to five years. Then, it is followed by a second bear market crash lasting for approximately two years, a two-year bear market rally, a major bear market low, and finally a final bear market low, heralding the end of the bear market cycle. In a bear market cycle, the average price-to-earnings ratios begin to shrink, interest rates tend to rise, and inflation picks up. Bear market cycles are typically classified as cyclical bear market cycles and secular bear market cycles.

An example of a bear market cycle is the period 2000-present.