The objective of this study was to examine whether 4 and/or 8 weeks of intensive tai chi practise could improve balance control in healthy elderly subjects. A total of 49 community-dwelling elderly subjects (aged 69.1 ± SD 5.8 years) voluntarily participated in an intervention programme of either supervised tai chi or general education for 1.5 h, 6 times per week for 8 weeks. Two balance tests were administered using computerised dynamic posturography before, at 4 and at 8 weeks during training, and at 4 weeks after training ended. The sensory organisation test measured subjects’ abilities to use somatosensory, visual and vestibular information to control their body sway during stance under six sensory conditions and the limits of stability test measured subjects’ abilities to voluntarily weight shift to eight spatial positions within their base of support. After 4 and 8 weeks of intensive tai chi training, the elderly subjects achieved significantly better vestibular ratio in the sensory organisation test and directional control of their leaning trajectory in the limits of stability test when compared with those of the control group. These improvements were maintained even at follow-up 4 weeks afterwards.