The purpose of this study was to evaluate changes in the prevalence and risk factors of cognitive impairment (CI) by analyzing and comparing two cross-sectional epidemiological surveys of CI and its subtypes were performed in a rural area of northern China between 2010 and 2015. Residents aged ≥60 years were drawn in northern China. The Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) is recommended to test for CI. Dementia was further categorised into Alzheimer's disease (AD), vascular dementia (VaD), and dementia caused by other diseases (ODs). Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) was classified into MCI caused by AD (MCI-A), MCI caused by VaD (MCI-VD), and MCI caused by ODs (MCI-O). The prevalence of CI increased in China. The prevalence of all-cause CI was 30·5% (22.9% MCI and 7.6% dementia) in 2010. The prevalence of all-cause CI was 38.3% (27.8% MCI and 10.5% dementia) in 2015. Similar increases were observed for the prevalence of subtypes of dementia and MCI. These findings suggest an increasing prevalence of CI and its subtypes in China, which may be related to alterations in sociodemographic factors, vascular risk factors and lifestyle changes over time in these cohorts.