We study how technological leadership affects persistence in product innovation. Relying upon a database of 1818 products marketed between 1990 and 1999 by 265 firms active in a high-tech industry we first construct a measure of technological leadership in terms of firm positioning with respect to the frontier and then relate this measure to persistence in innovation. We find that leaders are systematically more persistent innovators than laggards. We also find that leaders in one market can also systematically innovate in a related market. Laggards in one market can instead innovate systematically in another one only if it is less technologically advanced. We also find evidence that patenting increase persistence in product innovation.