As the place for gas exchange, the lungs are metabolically active, and their energy consumption are essential for regulating common cell functions and maintaining the unique function of lung tissues to synthesize pulmonary surfactants. The metabolic pathways of pulmonary cells mainly include glycolysis, pentose phosphate pathway, and tricarboxylic acid cycle. Recent studies have found that changes in pulmonary cells metabolism are closely related to a variety of lung diseases. Herein, we review the main pathways of pulmonary cells metabolism and the relationship between changes in cell metabolism and the four lung diseases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and pulmonary hypertension (PH), to find new ways to treat lung diseases.