Growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) is an emerging biomarker for risk stratification in cardiovascular disease. Contrast-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) is an important complication in patients undergoing coronary angiography (CAG) or percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). In this retrospectively observational study, we aimed to determine the role of GDF-15 and the risk of AKI in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients.The medical records of 1195 patients with AMI were reviewed. After exclusion criteria, a total of 751 eligible patients who underwent CAG or PCI were studied. Preoperative clinical parameters including GDF-15 levels were recorded. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify the risk factors of AKI. Subsequently, to reduce a potential selection bias and to balance differences between the two groups, a propensity score-matched analysis was performed. We recorded the 30-day all-cause mortality of the total study population. Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to identify the association between short term survival in AMI patients and GDF-15 level.Among 751 enrolled patients, 106 patients (14.1%) developed AKI. Patients were divided into two groups: AKI group (n = 106) and non-AKI group (n = 645). GDF-15 levels were significantly higher in AKI group compared to non-AKI group (1328.2 ± 349.7 ng/L vs. 1113.0 ± 371.3 ng/L, P