Background: Increasing number of studies have suggested the time to first cigarette after waking (TTFC) have significant positive effect on respiratory diseases. However, few of them focused on the Chinese population. This study aims to estimate the impact of TTFC on the prevalence of chronic respiratory diseases (CRD) in Chinese elderly and explore the association in different sub-populations. Methods: Cross-sectional data of demographic characteristics, living environment, smoking-related variables, and CRD were drawn from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey in 2018. Multivariate stepwise logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the association of the TTFC with the prevalence of CRD. Results: This study includes 13,208 subjects aged 52 years and older, with a mean age of 85.3 years. Of them, 3,779 participants were ex- or current smokers (44.9% had the TTFC <= 30 minutes, 55.1% >30 minutes) and 1,492 had suffered from CRD. Compared with non-smokers, participants with TTFC <= 30 minutes seemed to have higher prevalence of CRD (OR 1.97; 95% CI, 1.65-2.35) than those with TTFC >30 minutes (OR 1.70; 95% CI, 1.44-2.00), although the difference was statistically insignificant (Pinteraction = 0.12). Compared with TTFC >30 minutes, TTFC <= 30 minutes could drive a higher prevalence of CRD among female participants, those aged 90 years and older, urban residents, and ex-smokers (Pinteraction < 0.05). Conclusion: Shorter TTFC relates to higher prevalences of CRD in Chinese older females, those aged 90 years and older, urban residents, and ex-smokers. Delaying TTFC might partially reduce its detrimental impact on respiratory disease in these specific subpopulations.