BackgroundCataract is the primary cause of blindness globally, and surgery offers the only method by which to remove cataracts. We aimed to examine whether previous cataract surgery is associated with cognitive function.MethodsOur study included 13,824 participants. Data from the baseline of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) were used. The participants were categorized into two groups: with and without previous cataract surgery. Weighted multiple linear regression was used to obtain the β and 95% confidence intervals (CI).ResultsThe participants who had previous cataract surgery (n = 261) scored lower in cognition, including both memory and mental state, than those without previous cataract surgery. After adjusting for socioeconomic factors and metabolic measures, a negative association was evident between previous cataract surgery and cognition (β = −0.647, 95% CI: −1.244, − 0.049). Furthermore, the participants who were older and female demonstrated a decline in cognition, while living in cities and having higher levels education were associated with higher cognition.ConclusionsBetter cognitive function was associated with less previous cataract surgery or cataract occurrence. This suggests that a period of vision loss due to cataract leads to cognitive decline, however further studies are need to dissect the impact of vision loss and cataract surgery on cognitive decline.