Magomedali Magomedov, who is 75, said President Vladimir Putin accepted his resignation.
He spoke to reporters at the airport in the regional capital, Makhachkala, after arriving from Moscow.
Magomedov has been in effective charge of Daghestan since before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
(AP, Reuters)
RFE/RL Russia Report
RFE/RL Russia Report