Background: To investigate whether duration of residence (DOR) impacts dementia literacy in Chinese Americans aged 40–64.

Material: A total of 151 Chinese Americans answered a self-administered, true/false survey assessing knowledge of dementia symptoms, treatment, cause and prognosis. Two groups were dichotomized and compared based on DOR in the USA.

Discussion: DOR did not greatly impact the understanding of dementia between respondents with a < 20-year versus a ≥ 20-year DOR. Both groups exhibited deficiencies in recognizing the symptoms of dementia.

Conclusion: Gaps in dementia knowledge reflect a stigma surrounding mental illness among Chinese Americans, and impact the seeking of professional care.