The time-course of on-eye hydrogel lens movement has not been carefully scrutinized, despite the importance of lens movement in optimizing lens fit and corneal physiology. We conducted a study to define the time-course of soft lens movement using 26 subjects. Video slitlamp recordings were made of lens movement at 5-min intervals for 30-min wear and after 8-h wear of 38 or 67% water content lenses (N = 14 and 12, respectively). Lens mobility profiles were statistically indistinguishable for high and low water content lenses, and for experienced and neophyte lens wearers. Lens movement displayed biphasic temporal characteristics, decreasing significantly over the first 25 min from a median of 0.6 to 0.3 mm (Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test, p = 0.002), then increasing significantly to 0.5 mm after 8 h of wear (p = 0.03). Although some subjects exhibited little alteration in lens movement, 31% showed a decrease in lens movement > 0.25 mm during the first half-hour of wear. Optimal predictability of lens mobility after 8-h wear was achieved 5 min after insertion, with 77% of subjects displaying lens movement within +/- 0.25 mm of the final value. In-office assessment of lens movement is best achieved 5 min after insertion, although clinical and real world lens mobility will differ significantly in about one in four patients.