We analyse whether the event of succession changes the performance of Italian family farms, using data from the Italian Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) and several performance indicators during 2008-2014. T-tests of equality of means and propensity score matching reveal that succession has a negative effect on performance related to capital, due to an increase in capital after succession. Furthermore, in the first years examined, performance per hectare after succession is lower for farms with succession than for farms without. This negative effect of succession on performance per hectare is not systematically confirmed when performance is related per labour unit.