Background and purpose — The direct superior approach (DSA) is a modification of the classic posterolateral approach (PLA) for total hip arthroplasty (THA), in which the iliotib-ial band and short external rotators are spared. The revision rate of the DSA has not been investigated previously using arthroplasty registry data. We examined the reasons and risk of revision of the DSA, compared with the direct anterior approach (DAA) and PLA. Patients and methods — In this population-based cohort study we included 175,543 primary THAs performed between 2014 and 2020 (PLA, n = 117,576; DAA, n = 56,626; DSA, n = 1,341). Competing risk survival analysis and multivariable Cox proportional hazard analyses, adjusted for potential confounders, were performed. Results — After 3 years, crude revision rates due to any reason were 2.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.3–3.3) for DSA, and 2.9% (CI 2.8–3.0) for PLA. Crude dislocation revision rates were 0.3% (CI 0.1–0.8) for DSA, versus 1.0% (CI 0.9–1.0) for PLA. Dislocation revision rate for DSA did not differ from DAA (0.3% [CI 0.2–0.3]). Multivariable Cox regression analysis demonstrated no overall difference in revision rates for the DSA (HR 0.6 [CI 0.4–1.09) compared with the PLA. Lower risk of revision due to dislocation was found in patients operated on through the DSA (HR 0.3 [0.1– 0.9]) compared with the PLA. Conclusion — Early nationwide results suggest that the DSA for total hip arthroplasty seems to show a tendency towards a lower risk of revision for dislocation but no overall reduced revision risk compared with the PLA.