Objective To explore the hospitalization status of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( COPD ) . Method In total, 12,838 COPD patients hospitalized from January 2008 to December 2014 were involved in the study and their hospitalization status were analyzed. Results Among the 12,838 patients, 2,499 were hospitalized for critical conditions (19.47%), 5,455 for acute attack (42.49%), 4,884 for acute exacerbation (38.04%). The ratio of male/female was 5.32:1. Those in 71 to 80 years old were at the highest risk. They were hospitalized at least for 1 time, at most for over 38 times, averaged (3.52 ± 4.05) times. Conclusions The COPD patients were hospitalized due to acute attack and acute exacerbation. The patients'age ranged from 71 to 80 years. The male patients had a predominant incidence than the female ones. The times of hospitalization were related with possible complications of other chronic diseases. Therefore, nursing staff should draw up individual continuing nursing strategies based on the patients′ hospitalization reasons to reduce the hospitalization rate of acute attack and acute exacerbation. Meanwhile, we should formulate the pre-hospital rescue plan for the hospitalized patients at the peak age and implement prospective nursing.