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Background The prevalence of hypertension in population is still increasing by year, and the significant increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases caused by aging of the population results in a serious medical burden. There are still about 450 million people in China who use solid fuels for cooking or heating, causing indoor air pollution as an important public health problem in China. At present, the relationship between solid fuels use and the risk of hypertension in Chinese older adults still remains unclear. Objective To analyze the association between solid fuels use and the risk of hypertension in older adults in urban and rural areas of China through a prospective cohort study, so as to provide a theoretical basis for the prevention and treatment of hypertension in the elderly. Methods This study is a prospective cohort study. Data were obtained from 2011 to 2018 China Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) by using baseline questionnaire and physical examination. A total of 1 453 non-hypertensive older adults aged 65 years and above from 2011 to 2012 cohort were included in the study, and the occurrence of hypertension during follow-up was considered as the outcome indicator, follow-up as of 2018-12-31. The included subjects were divided into the clean fuel (electrical appliances such as induction cooker, pipeline natural gas, solar energy) group (n=654) and solid fuel (charcoal, kerosene, coal, firewood) group (n=799). Multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to analyze the association between cooking with solid fuels and the risk of hypertension. Results A total of 1 453 non-hypertensive older adults at baseline with an average age of (77.6±8.8) years and a median follow-up of 7 years, and a total of 838 people developed hypertension at the outcome. The results of this study showed that the proportion of cooking with solid fuels in rural areas was significantly higher than that in urban areas (70.3% vs. 1.1%, P<0.05). Multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression model showed that cooking with solid fuels significantly increased the risk of hypertension〔HR=1.20, 95%CI (1.05, 1.38), P=0.01〕, and the adjustment for covariates still indicated that it increased the risk of hypertension〔HR=1.21, 95%CI (1.04, 1.41), P=0.01〕. In addition, cooking with solid fuels was positively associated with abnormal mean arterial pressure (MAP) 〔HR=1.26, 95%CI (1.02, 1.55), P=0.03〕; and the adjustment for covariates still showed positive association of it with abnormal MAP〔HR=1.28, 95%CI (1.02, 1.60), P=0.03〕. Conclusion Cooking with solid fuels in urban and rural areas of China significantly increases the risk of hypertension in the elderly, as well as affects MAP. Reducing the use of solid fuels for cooking and promoting the use of clean fuels is a simple and effective measure in the prevention and control of hypertension.