Background <p>The associations between atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) have been widely reported; However, such association to the incidence of stroke in the population with Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic (CKM) syndrome remains ambiguous.</p> Methods <p>A total of 7754 participants with CKM syndrome stages 0–3 from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study were enrolled in this study. The incidence of new-onset stroke events was the primary outcome of this study. We used Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox proportional hazards models to explore the association between baseline AIP levels and the risk of stroke in the population with CKM syndrome stages 0–3. Additionally, we utilized restricted cubic spline plots to analyze the form of this association.</p> Results <p>During a median follow-up of 6.8 years, 455 participants (5.9%) with CKM syndrome experienced their first stroke events. AIP was positively associated with the risk of stroke in the population with CKM syndrome stages 0–3. Kaplan–Meier curves analysis demonstrated a significant difference in stroke incidence across the AIP groups among the entire cohort. In the fully adjusted Model 3, the results revealed a significantly elevated risk of stroke for participants in the Q2, Q3, and Q4 groups compared to those in the Q1 group, with respective HR (95% CI) value of 1.352 (1.009–1.811), 1.421 (1.064–1.897), and 1.414 (1.052–1.900). Restricted cubic spline plots revealed the association of AIP and stroke risk was nonlinear (<i>P</i>-overall &lt; 0.05, <i>P</i>-non-linear &lt; 0.05), with inflection points of 0.32.</p> Conclusion <p>This study provides evidence that baseline AIP levels were significantly positively associated with the risk of stroke in individuals with CKM syndrome stages 0–3, and AIP may serve as an effective risk marker for early identification of high-risk individuals prone to stroke within the CKM stages syndrome 0–3 population.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>