BackgroundFew studies have explored the prognostic role of nontraditional lipid-related indicators in non-disabling ischemic cerebrovascular events (NICE). In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between the ratio of non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C/HDL-C) and the1-year risk of recurrent stroke in patients with NICE.MethodsTotal cholesterol (TC), HDL-C, and patient information were collected at admission. Recurrent stroke events were followed up 3, 6, and 12 months after onset. Non-HDL-C levels were calculated by subtracting HDL-C from TC. The non-HDL-C/HDL-C ratio was treated as a continuous variable and in quartiles (Q1–Q4). Stratified multivariate Cox regression was used to investigate the relationship between the non-HDL-C/HDL-C ratio and the 1-year risk of recurrent stroke in patients with NICE.ResultsOverall, 1,659 patients with NICE were enrolled. For each unit increase in the non-HDL-C/HDL-C ratio, the 1-year risk of recurrent stroke in patients aged ≥ 65 years (older patients) with NICE increased by 64% in the adjusted model (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.64, 95%confidence interval [CI]:1.18–2.27,P= 0.003), and the HRs were 3.21 and 4.24 times higher in the Q3 and Q4 groups than that in the Q1 group, which was considered to be the reference (adjusted model Q3: HR: 3.21, 95%CI: 1.05–9.83,P= 0.041; adjusted model Q4: HR: 4.24, 95%CI: 1.30–13.85,P= 0.017). However, there was no significant difference in patients younger than 65 years. Both curve fitting and Kaplan–Meier cumulative risk analysis showed that an elevated non-HDL-C/HDL-C ratio significantly increased the 1-year risk of recurrent stroke in older patients with NICE. The optimal range for the non-HDL-C/HDL-C ratio should be no higher than the Q2 group (2.256–2.939). Stratified Cox regression analysis showed that these results tended to be stable for different comorbidities (allPfor interaction > 0.05).ConclusionsElevated non-HDL-C/HDL-C ratios significantly increased the 1-year risk of recurrent stroke in older patients with NICE. Therefore, clinicians need to pay more attention to this indicator when managing older patients with NICE.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12877-023-04102-x.