Historic cemeteries, as part of the cultural heritage and spatial structure of cities, possess physical, architectural, historical, cultural, and semantic values in addition to their primary funerary function. The environmental quality of these places can influence users’ perception, experience, and behavior. However, the ways in which environmental characteristics affect users’ preferences in such settings, particularly in historic cemeteries in Iran, have received limited attention. This study aims to explain the components influencing users’ environmental preferences in the historic Takht-e Foolad Cemetery in Isfahan and to identify the behavioral outcomes associated with these preferences. The research is applied in terms of purpose and adopts a mixed-methods approach. Using thematic analysis, data obtained through documentary studies, field observations, and interviews with users and visitors of Takht-e Foolad were analyzed. In the quantitative phase, a researcher-made questionnaire was used to examine the importance of the identified components. The findings indicate that users’ environmental preferences in Takht-e Foolad are shaped by eight main components: physical-spatial, architectural and aesthetic, natural and landscape, semantic-perceptual, historical-identity, functional-managerial, socio-cultural, and sustainability and conservation. The results further demonstrate that these components not only influence users’ perceptions and evaluations of the environment but also contribute to the formation of behavioral patterns, including the selection of routes and spaces, pausing and staying, visiting historical elements, social interaction, contemplation and seeking solitude, and willingness to revisit. Accordingly, environmental preferences in the historic Takht-e Foolad Cemetery emerge from the interaction between the physical and spatial characteristics of the environment and its perceptual, semantic, social, and managerial layers. Simultaneous consideration of these components can provide a basis for enhancing environmental quality and supporting the conservation and regeneration of this historic heritage site.