The association between spontaneous pneumothorax (SP) and stroke has not been reported, and this study aimed to explore this association. We used the National Health Insurance Research Database for conducting a nationwide, population-based, retrospective cohort study of patients newly hospitalized for SP from 2000 to 2010. A total of 2541 patients with newly diagnosed SP were included and compared with patients without SP. We observed that patients with SP were at higher risk for developing stroke, with an adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of 1.56. In addition, these patients had a significantly higher risk of hemorrhagic stroke (adjusted HR = 2.22) than of ischemic stroke (adjusted HR = 1.48). The risk of stroke was the highest in the initial 4 months after hospitalization for SP (adjusted HR = 3.41, 95% confidence interval = 1.98-5.87). In conclusion, our study revealed a correlation between stroke and a history of SP, and the risk of stroke after SP was time sensitive.