Norrie saw off Serbia's Kecmanovic 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) at the Wimbledon warm-up event in west London.
Just two weeks after losing in the French Open third round on the clay of Paris, Norrie is building towards the start of Wimbledon on July 3.
He was beaten by eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon last four just over a year ago.
The 27-year-old, who finished as Queen's runner-up in 2021, let three match points slip against Kecmanovic before clinching the victory at the fourth attempt.
"It feels good to be back on the grass and back here playing in London in front of a full crowd," Norrie said.
"It wasn't easy to get over the line. I had a couple of chances towards the end of the second set and I donated my serve at 3-1 up.
"I had a number of match points and it was just nice to see that forehand fly long at the end. It's always tricky, the first match on grass. I was really happy to get over the line."
Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray knows what he needs to do at Queen's this week in order to achieve a seeded ranking at the All England Club.
Murray, a five-time winner of Queen's, arrives at the tournament boosted by successive titles on the Challenger Tour.
The 36-year-old's successes in Nottingham and Surbiton took him up to 38 in the world, his highest ranking since his hip surgery.
Playing with a metal hip in the twilight of his career, the former world number one knows a run to the last four at Queen's would take him into the top 32 and guarantee a seeding at Wimbledon.
"I pretty much know what I have to do, and if I make the semis at Queen's I will definitely make seeding and maybe the quarters may be enough," said Murray, who faces world number 18 Alex de Minaur in the Queen's first round on Tuesday.
