Provided are a positive electrode active material and an electrochemical device. The positive electrode active material is of a P63mc crystal structure and is a lithium transition metal composite oxide containing Co and an R element, wherein the M element includes at least one of Al, Mg, Ti, Mn, Fe, Ni, Zn, Cu, Nb, Cr, Y, or Zr, the R element includes at least one of F, Cl, and the R element is amolar content of nR; wherein the sum of the molar content of Co and the molar content of M is nCo+M, and the ratio delta of nR to nCo+M is larger than 0 and smaller than or equal to 0.01. The positiveelectrode active material disclosed by the invention is high in crystal structure stability, so that the cycle performance and the thermal stability of an electrochemical device are improved.