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Police used tear gas briefly Wednesday during confrontations with protesters, after what had begun as a largely peaceful event.
They said "thugs" had thrown bricks and petrol bombs, set fires, and damaged banks and shops during the demonstration.
The police added that the actions "seriously endangered the safety of the people present" and had negotiated with the organizers -- Civil Rights Front -- to end the rally in Victoria Park.
Five males -- the youngest aged 13 -- were arrested along the protest route for possession of weapons including "extendable batons, hammers, spanners and knuckle dusters," police said.
However, organizers condemned officers for "forcing" them to end the march, adding that the police were "full of lies" about the event and "aim to separate Hong Kongers."
They say that after police arrested people "it was quite peaceful" and officers then retreated -- "but simultaneously deployed tear gas."
Despite calls from the event organizers to leave the area, thousands of protesters remained on the streets on Wednesday evening.
Event organizers said over a million people had taken part in the march. The police estimate was significantly lower, with authorities suggesting 60,560 people had participated, and that just 13,000 of those remained inside Victoria Park on Wednesday evening.
Activists of all ages began gathering in Causeway Bay on Hong Kong Island on Wednesday afternoon local time, with some waving flags that read "Hong Kong independence."
Others donned masks of Pepe the Frog, an internet meme that has been adopted as one of the symbols of the city's long-running protest movement.
Protests continue into 2020
Wednesday's rally was organized by Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF), the group behind some of the movement's biggest marches. Spokesman Jimmy Sham earlier said he hoped it would be peaceful.
On New Year's Eve, protesters gathered around Hong Kong, resulting in clashes with police.
Although protesters have been demonstrating for almost seven months, marchers on Wednesday emphasized the need to continue.
"Our children are out there protesting, we worry every time that they will be arrested but we fully support them," said a 62-year-old man, who asked not to be named out of privacy concerns. "Hong Kong people need to persist."