Objectives: Albuminuria is thought to be a marker of underlying vascular dysfunction and has been suggested to be an independent predictor of cardiovascular diseases and all-cause mortality in patients with high cardiovascular risk. This study examined the prognostic effect of albuminuria on myocardial infarction (MI), stroke and death in a general population. Methods: 2011-2014 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey included 11,860 participants aged ≥40 years, who were followed until 2017 using the Korean National Health Insurance Claims Database.  Results: The urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) above 30 m/g was found in 1,084 subjects (9.1%) at baseline. During a follow-up period, albuminuria significantly increased the incidence of stroke and all-cause mortality but not MI in the overall cohort analysis. Hazard ratio (HR) for the development of stroke associated with albuminuria was 1.945 (95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.425–2.656). All-cause mortality also increased with high ACR compared to normal ACR, after fully adjusting for confounding variables (HR 1.587, 95 % CI 1.292–1.949). When grouping estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and albuminuria categories, subjects with urine ACR ≥ 30 mg/g and an eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 had higher risks of stroke (HR 2.737, 95 % CI 1.575-4.755) and all-cause deaths (HR 2.332, 95 % CI 1.663-3.270). Individuals with a history of diabetes had increased risks of MI, stroke and all-cause mortality according to the presence of albuminuria. Conclusions: Albuminuria could be a baseline predictor of increased stroke and all-cause mortality, but not MI, in the general population.