Background The Valsalva maneuver (VM) is widely used in daily life, and has been reported to cause high intraocular pressure (IOP). This study aimed to assess changes in IOP, the Schlemm's canal (SC), autonomic nervous system activity, and iridocorneal angle morphology in healthy individuals during different phases of the VM. Methods The high frequency (HF) of heart rate (HR) variability, the ratio of low frequency power (LF) and HF (LF/HF), heart rate (HR), IOP, systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), the area of SC (SCAR), pupil diameter (PD), and some iridocorneal angle parameters (AOD500, ARA750, TIA500 and TISA500) were measured in 29 young healthy individuals at baseline, phase 2, and phase 4 of the VM. SBP and DBP were measured to calculate mean arterial pressure (MAP) and mean ocular perfusion pressure (MOPP). HF and the LF/HF ratio were recorded using Kubios HR variability premium software to evaluate autonomic nervous system activity. The profiles of the anterior chamber were captured by a Spectralis optical coherence tomography device (anterior segment module). Results Compared with baseline values, in phase 2 of the VM, HR, LF/HF, IOP (15.1 +/- 2.7 vs. 18.8 +/- 3.5 mmHg, P < 0.001), SCAR (mean) (7712.112 +/- 2992.14 vs. 8921.12 +/- 4482.79 mu m(2), P = 0.039), and PD increased significantly, whereas MOPP, AOD500, TIA500, and TISA500 decreased significantly. In phase 4, DBP, MAP, AOD500, ARA750, TIA500and TISA500 were significantly lower than baseline value, while PD and HF were remarkably larger than baseline. The comparison between phase 2 and phase 4 showed that HR, IOP (18.8 +/- 3.5 vs. 14.7 +/- 2.9 mmHg, P < 0.001) and PD decreased significantly from phase 2 to phase 4, but there were no significant differences in other parameters. Conclusions The expansion and collapse of the SC in different phases of the VM may arise from changes in autonomic nervous system activity. Further, the effects of the VM on IOP may be attributed to changes in blood flow and ocular anatomy.