Parametric studies have been implemented to characterize the basic nonlinear damping capacity of particle dampers under this new operating condition. The effects of seven dimensionless independent parameters on the specific damping capacity (SDC) are investigated, including dimensionless acceleration amplitude, particle mass ratio, dimensionless horizontal and vertical impact clearances, coefficients of friction and restitution, and amplitude ratio of the horizontal excitation to the vertical excitation. The results show that the basic damping properties of PD under HVE are similar to those of PD under only vertical excitation. However, PD under HVE signifies its own characteristics because of the existence of horizontal excitation: (1) The impact clearances in both the horizontal and vertical directions have significant effects on the SDC because of the significant increase in oblique impacts. (2) The shape and dimensions of a damper cavity should be designed according to the acceleration amplitude. If the amplitude is relatively low (such as Γ<3 in this study), the optimum shape of the damper cavity tends to be flat. By contrast, if the amplitude is high (such as Γ close to 10), the optimum shape tends to be elongated. The damping differences between PD under HVE and vertical excitation are also investigated. For PD under HVE, the kinetic energy is mainly dissipated by friction rather than inelastic collision for PD under vertical excitation. In addition, by use of different amplitude ratios of the horizontal excitation to the vertical excitation, it is found that the total ratio of energy dissipation for the particle dampers under HVE generally becomes higher, and the optimum Γ region for high SDC is also expanded.