On OKX, to decide whether you should reduce a position, just look at the maintenance margin ratio. It is the core metric the system uses to decide if your position will be liquidated. No need to guess or copy what others do. Three steps: find it, understand it, and act on it.
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Step 1: Find the maintenance margin ratio on the positions page
First, check what risk level your position is at right now.
What to do: Open the OKX app or web futures trading page and go to the positions area.
How to do it:
App: Enter the futures trading page, tap the "Positions" tab at the bottom. In the position details you will see a "maintenance margin ratio" or "margin ratio" percentage.
Web: Enter the futures trading page, find the position in the "Current Positions" list, and check the "margin ratio" number directly.
Completion standard: You now know the exact percentage of your current position's maintenance margin ratio.
Step 2: Judge the risk level by the number range
Different maintenance margin ratios mean very different actions. OKX's rule: When the margin ratio ≤ 100%, forced liquidation is triggered. When it ≤ 300%, a warning is issued.
Case A: Margin ratio above 300% (safe zone) Your account is relatively safe and you don't need to reduce the position for now. But don't relax — this number can change fast when the market moves sharply. Especially with high-leverage positions, a single wick can drop it from 300% right below the warning line.
Case B: Margin ratio between 100% and 300% (warning zone) The system will send a reduction warning, reminding you to pay attention to risk. This zone means "you should seriously consider reducing your position." If the price moves just a little against you, the ratio could drop below 100% and trigger liquidation.
Case C: Margin ratio ≤ 100% (liquidation zone) The system will trigger forced position reduction or liquidation. OKX uses a tiered liquidation process — it doesn't close everything at once. First, it cancels opposite limit orders, then it partially reduces positions from the highest risk portion down until the ratio returns to a safe level. If it falls below 100% and you haven't acted yet, your position will be taken over by the system and you lose control.
Common reasons for failure
Many traders see the margin ratio near the warning line and think, "I'll hold a bit longer, it will bounce soon." But OKX's liquidation mechanism executes automatically when the margin ratio drops below 100%. It won't give you a "wait" option. Also, tiered liquidation will start cutting from positions with the highest leverage first. If you have multiple positions, the system usually liquidates the riskiest one, not the one you hope to keep.
Step 3: Execute position reduction based on your risk assessment
If you decide to reduce, follow these steps.
What to do: Actively close part or all of the position to push the margin ratio back above the safety line.
How to do it:
Click the "Close Position" button in the positions area.
Choose the amount to reduce. You can close only a portion (e.g., 50%) to free up margin and increase the margin ratio.
It is recommended to use the "Reduce-Only" order function. This ensures the order only decreases your position and won't accidentally open a reverse one.
You can also choose "Market Close All" to exit quickly, but note that market orders may cause slippage, and you need to enable a double-confirmation to avoid misclicks.
Completion standard: After closing, the position size is smaller and the maintenance margin ratio returns to the safe zone (>300%).
Risk reminder: If you are in the warning zone (100%–300%) but choose not to reduce and let the market worsen, once liquidation is triggered you will not only pay normal fees but also a liquidation penalty. This covers the slippage and system losses from handling your position. That money is deducted directly from your account — after liquidation you may find your account has far less than expected. You could lose all your margin and even owe the platform additional fees.
How to verify the result after the action
After reducing your position, check the "maintenance margin ratio" on the positions page again. If it has moved from the warning zone (100%–300%) back above 300%, the reduction worked and the risk is gone.
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Next steps
If you reduced your position but the margin ratio is still below 100% and falling, the market is still moving strongly against you. Don't wait any longer — consider an immediate market close all to stop the loss. If some margin was freed up after the reduction, you can transfer it back to your spot account to avoid idle funds being mistakenly counted as available margin, which might give you the false feeling that you "can still hold on."
