This dataset contains the data required to reproduce the results in the journal article: "Scaling and dynamics of vortex lock-in for circular cylinders in an oscillating flow". It contains experimental results obtained in the wake of circular cylinders with various diameters placed in an acoustically oscillated flow. The results were acquired using hot-wire anemometry (HWA) and planar particle image velocimetry (PIV). The results presented discuss the physics involved in the problem through a novel scaling to estimate the onset of the lock-in phenomenon. Proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) was employed to obtain better insights into the process of vortex formation and their subsequent dynamics.