Objective To explore the potential profile analysis of cognitive load and its influencing factors in patients with acute ischemic stroke during motor imagery rehabilitation training， and to provide reference for optimizing motor imagery rehabilitation program in the later stage. Methods A total of 102 patients with acute ischemic stroke admitted to the Department of Neurology， Xuanwu Hospital， Capital Medical University from February to November 2023 were selected as the research objects. NASA Task Load Index （NASA-TLX） was used to investigate the cognitive load immediately after motor imagery rehabilitation training. Latent profile analysis was used to classify the characteristics. The investigation includes General Information Survey， Modified Rankin Scale （mRS）， National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale （NIHSS）， Barthel Index， 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale （CD-RISC-10）， Fatigue Severity Scale （FSS）， Stroke Self Efficacy Scale （SSEQ）， Chinese version of Acceptance of Illness Scale （AIS-CHI） and Medical Coping Modes Questionnaire （MCMQ）. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the influencing factors of cognitive load during motor imagery. Results Among the 102 patients， there were 16 cases with low cognitive load （15.7%）， 42 cases with effort and satisfaction （41.2%）， 11 cases with effort and frustration （10.8%）， and 33 cases with self-sensitivity （32.3%）. There were statistically significant differences in the scores and total scores of NASA-TLX scale among the four categories of cognitive load （P＜ 0.01）. Univariate analysis showed that there were statistically significant differences in cognitive load among patients of different categories in terms of Barthel index， mRS score， FSS score， and SSEQ score （P＜0.05）. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that Barthel's index （OR=0.939， 95%CI： 0.900 to 0.979， P=0.003）， fatigue severity （OR=3.990， 95%CI： 1.111 to 14.336， P=0.034）， and rehabilitation self-efficacy （OR=0.896， 95%CI： 0.837 to 0.959， P=0.002） were factors affecting cognitive load in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Conclusions The cognitive load of patients with acute ischemic stroke during motor imagery rehabilitation training can be divided into four potential categories. Barthel index， fatigue severity， and rehabilitation self-efficacy are the influencing factors of cognitive load in patients with acute ischemic stroke undergoing motor imagery training.