Objective To investigate the role of evidence-based comprehensive nursing with airway management as an intervention on rehabilitation after cardiopulmonary resuscitation in emergency patients with cardiac arrest. Methods A total of 36 patients with cardiac arrest admitted to the Department of Emergency Medicine, Dengzhou Central Hospital from January to March 2024 were selected and divided into the control group and the observation group according to the method of a random number table, with 18 cases in each group. The control group used conventional care, and the observation group used evidence-based comprehensive nursing with airway management. The rehabilitation effect (effective rate), psychological resilience (three dimensions of resilience, optimism, and strength), resuscitation effect (heartbeat recovery time, respiratory recovery time, and consciousness improvement time), and adverse reactions were compared between the two groups. Results The effective rate in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group (94.44% vs. 66.67%, P<0.05). After the intervention, resilience, optimism and strength scores decreased in both groups, with lower scores in the observation group than those in the control group (all P<0.05). The heartbeat recovery time and respiratory recovery time, as well as the improvement time in consciousness, were shorter in the observation group than those in the control group (all P<0.05). Compared with that the control group, the incidence of adverse reactions in the observation group was lower (all P<0.05). Conclusion Evidence-based comprehensive nursing combined with airway management can significantly improve the rehabilitation efficiency of emergency patients with cardiac arrest after cardiopulmonary resuscitation, improve patients’ psychological resilience, shorten the resuscitation time, and reduce the incidence of adverse reactions. This study provides a scientific paradigm for evidence-based comprehensive nursing combined with airway management in cardiopulmonary resuscitation nursing practice.