IntroductionPreserved ratio impaired spirometry (PRISm) is a subtype of pulmonary function abnormality which is characterized by a proportional reduction in non-obstructive expiratory lung volume. Currently, no studies have shown a relationship between PRISm and mortality in myocardial infarction (MI) survivors.MethodsWe used cohort data from U.S. adults who attended the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2007 to 2012. According to the ratio of forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) to forced vital capacity (FVC), we divided lung function into normal spirometry (FEV1/ FVC) ≥ 70%, FEV1≥ 80%), PRISm (FEV1/FVC ≥ 70%, FEV1< 80%) and obstructive spirometry (FEV1/FVC < 70%). Cox regression was used to estimate the correlation between lung functions and mortality among MI patients. Kaplan-Meier survival curves compared the prognosis of MI with three different lung functions. We further verify the stability of the results by sensitivity analysis.Results411 subjects were included in our research. The mean follow-up time for the study was 105 months. Compared with normal spirometry, PRISm was significantly correlated with a greater relative risk for all-cause mortality (adjust HR 3.41, 95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 1.76–6.60,P< 0.001) and cardiovascular mortality (adjust HR 13.9, 95%CI: 2.60–74.6,P= 0.002). PRISm remains more correlated with all-cause mortality (adjust HR 2.73, 95%CI: 1.28–5.83,P= 0.009) relative to obstructive spirometry. The results are basically stable after sensitivity analysis. Kaplan-Meier survival curves showed that patients with PRISm tended to have the lowest survival during the follow-up period.ConclusionPRISm is an independent risk factor for all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in MI survivors. The presence of PRISm was associated with a significantly higher risk of all-cause mortality compared with obstructive spirometry.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12872-023-03352-2.