Objective To explore the relationship between serum uric acid and cognitive impairment. Methods This was a community-based prospective study. The baseline population(2011) was enrolled from a cohort(≥50 years old) of normal people in Wuliqiao and Malu community in Shanghai. The endpoint was the cognitive function assessment results of the last follow-up (2016). Cognitive assessment was performed using mini-mental status examination(MMSE). The uric acid level of the study population was divided into four quartiles from low to high score (Q₁-Q₄) in both male and female. Logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between serum uric acid and cognitive impairment. Results A total of 312 people with an average age of (68.36±6.45) years old were enrolled, and there were 124 males (39.7%). During 5-year follow-up, the total people with cognitive impairments was 43, and the incidence rate was 13.8%. After adjusting age, gender and other related risk factors, multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that people with higher uric acid level (Q₃) had higher risk of cognitive impairment than those with low uric acid level (Q₁), with an odds ratio(OR) of 2.53 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.91-7.02]. After age stratification (50-70 years old; 70-90 years old), no positive results were found. However, stratified by gender, it was found that men with the highest uric acid level(Q₄) had a higher risk of cognitive impairment than those with the lowest uric acid level (Q₁)(OR=18.60，95%CI: 1.26-274.13), while no positive results were found in women. Conclusions Higher uric acid levels, especially in men, might increase the risk of cognitive impairment in people over 50 years.