Objective To explore the effects of nursing based on psychological nursing procedure in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods A total of 280 COPD patients in the Respiratory Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University from January 2016 to January 2017 were selected by simple random sampling method and divided into two groups, with 140 cases in each group. The control group was treated with routine nursing. The observation group was treated according to the psychological nursing procedure on the basis of the control group. The intervention effects were compared using Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD), General Self-Efficiency Scale (GSES) and Drug Attitude Inventory (DAI). The recovery of patients' lung function were evaluated and compared with 1 s forced expiratory volume (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC) and ratio (FEV1/FVC). Results After 3 months' intervention, the scores of HAMA and HAMD of the observation group were (8.74±3.21) and (7.94±2.17) respectively, which were lower than those of the control group, with statistical significance (t=5.980, 9.920; P<0.01). The total score of GSES and DAI of the observation group were (102.43±26.42) and (17.72±4.53), which were higher than those of the control group, with statistical significance (t=4.162, 5.969; P< 0.01). The FEV1/FVC of the observation group was (69.73±6.78)%, which was higher than that of the control group (57.74±5.16)%, and the difference was statistically significant (t=2.764, P< 0.01). Conclusions The nursing intervention based on psychological care procedure can alleviate COPD patients with anxiety and depression, improve self-efficacy and treatment compliance, which is worthy of clinical promotion.