Objective To evaluate the impact of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training on the willingness to perform on-site rescue for patients with apnea and cardiac arrest. Methods Through questionnaire survey, the analyses on the differences in the results of evaluating various indicators in CPR Willingness Questionnaire in 364 willingness (including 14 recurrent training personnel) of Yunnan Emergency Center from January 2017 to June 2018 before and after CPR training were carried out in order to observe the impact of training on willingness CPR willingness. Results A total of 364 questionnaires were distributed and 364 valid questionnaires were recovered, with a recovery rate of 100%. Compared with those before the CPR training, the analyses of the contents of the questionnaire showed that the proportions of following 6 types of volunteer who were reluctant to implement CPR on site begore training were significantly lower after CPR training [no confidence in their own operational skills: 20.3% (74/364) vs. 83.2% (303/364), being impossible to identify the patients requiring CPR: 25.5% (93/364) vs. 87.1% (317/364), fear of mouth-to-mouth artificial respiration to contract infectious diseases: 30.2% (110/364) vs. 82.4% (300/364), worried about chest compressions leading to bone fractures: 23.3% (85/364) vs. 86.8% (316/364), worried about the inaccurate positioning of chest compressions: 12.4% (45/364) vs. 82.4% (300/364) and fear of taking legal responsibility: 14.3% (52/364) vs. 89.8% (327/364)], and the differences were statistically significant (all P < 0.05); after training, the following 3 kinds of proportions of carrying out CPR were much higher than those before training [volunteers were willing to implement CPR on site for strangers: 83.2% (303/364) vs. 54.9% (200/364), volunteers were willing to implement CPR on site for friends, colleagues, classmates and other acquaintances: 83.5% (304/364) vs. 58.2% (212/364), volunteers were willing to implement CPR on site for family members: 84.6% (308/364) vs. 61.8% (225/364)], the differences being statistically significant (all P < 0.05). Conclusion CPR training for volunteers can improve their willingness to perform on-site rescue for patients with apnea and cardiac arrest, but there are still partial barriers of CPR willingness for strangers.