The song was written by Shelby Kennedy and Philip White and produced by McEntire and Tony Brown.

"I'm a Survivor" is a country pop song with lyrics that tell the story of a premature baby, who later becomes a single parent.

The song features a variety of instrumentation, including electric guitars, played by Steve Gibson.

The drums were played by Paul Leim, while the bass was performed by Michael Rhodes.

According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by BMG Rights Management, the song is composed in a key of D major and follows a chord progression of Em–D–D/F♯–G(9).

[4] The song follows in the theme of McEntire previous singles, which center on struggles of strong women throughout their lives.

Marshall Bowden of PopMatters stated the song "rings truer coming from her than it would from the likes of Hill and Twain" while adding that it "manages to combine the trials and tribulations of a premature baby and a single mom up in one ball of wax and still come out sounding like an anthem of personal victory—no small feat.