Objective To study the effect of nursing intervention on self-management ability of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in stable stage. Methods From Sep. 2014 to Jun. 2015, a total of 80 patients with stable COPD allowed to discharge in our respiratory department were divided into control group(40 cases) and experimental group(40 cases). Both groups were given routine nursing, conventional nursing guidance at discharge time and telephone instruction after discharge, besides, the experimental group was given additional nursing intervention for 4 months (the intervention program was implemented by a professional team established in our department of respiration). The two groups were evaluated by "slow lung obstruction self-management table", and their results were statistically analyzed. Results After intervention, the self-management ability score in the experimental group was significantly increased, and the difference before and after intervention was statistically significant (P<0.05), the selfmanagement ability score in the experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05). Conclusion Nursing intervention can effectively improve not only the self-management ability of patients with stable COPD, but also the intervention level of medical staff. Thus, it is worthy of clinical application and promotion.