BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between the triglyceride-glucose-body mass index (TyG-BMI) and all-cause mortality rate and to determine valuable predictive factors for the survival status of patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). METHODS: Conduct a study on CVD patients in the NHANES database from 2007 to 2016. Patients were divided into four groups based on the weighted quartiles of TyG-BMI. Kaplan-Meier curves, Cox regression, and restricted cubic spline (RCS) were used to analyze the correlation between this index and all-cause mortality. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate its predictive ability, sensitivity, and specificity. RESULTS: This study included 1085 patients, and revealed significant differences in survival rates among patients with different TyG-BMI levels. Patients in the higher TyG-BMI group have a lower mortality risk, yet there is no evident non-linear relationship. The ROC curve indicates that this indicator can serve as a predictive value for mortality in CVD patients, demonstrating good sensitivity and specificity. CONCLUSION: This study found a significant association between TyG-BMI index and all-cause mortality in patients with CVD. TyG-BMI can be used as a predictive indicator of all-cause mortality in CVD patients.