Abstract Background The association between previous spontaneous abortion and preeclampsia is not yet fully understood. The current study was conducted to assess the association between previous spontaneous abortion and preeclampsia among pregnant women in Sudan. Methods A case–control study (involving 180 women in each study group) was conducted at Saad Abuelela Hospital, Khartoum, Sudan. The cases were pregnant women with preeclampsia, while the control group included healthy pregnant women. The participants’ sociodemographic, obstetric, and clinical characteristics were assessed via a questionnaire. Results There was no significant difference in the age, parity, education level, employment status, blood group, body mass index, and hemoglobin level between the patient and control groups. Forty (22.2%) women with preeclampsia and 68 (37.8%) women in the control group had a history of spontaneous abortion ( p  = 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis (adjusted) revealed that women with a history of spontaneous abortion had a lower risk of preeclampsia than those without a history of spontaneous abortion adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 0.44, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.26‒0.73. However, women with a history of preeclampsia had a higher risk of recurrence of preeclampsia (AOR = 1.92, 95% CI = 1.11‒3.32). Conclusion The present study revealed that previous spontaneous abortion reduced the risk of preeclampsia by 59.0%.