Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a heterogeneous lung disease with high global prevalence. The main pathological characteristics of the disease are chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Environmental and host factors play a significant role in the development of the disease. The main risk factor is smoking. People over 40 years old are mostly affected. The most common symptoms are shortness of breath and chronic cough with or without expectoration. The gold standard for COPD diagnosis is spirometry. Inhaled bronchodilators are the basis of therapy. In addition to pharmacotherapy, smoking cessation and pulmonary rehabilitation are essential. Surgical treatment options are bullectomy, lung volume reduction surgery, and lung transplantation in the final stage of the disease. Frequent acute exacerbations of COPD, comorbidities and continued tobacco smoking have the greatest impact on the prognosis. Acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is characterized by worsening of COPD symptoms. The cardinal symptoms of the exacerbation are progressive dyspnea, progressive cough, increased volume, and sputum purulence, and in the physical examination, wheezing can be heard on auscultation. The most common cause of COPD exacerbations is an increase in local and systemic inflammation due to respiratory system infections and air pollution. However, the cause often remains unidentified. Most exacerbations are managed at the primary care level, not requiring hospitalization. Assesing the severity of exacerbations involves measuring the intensity of dyspnea by the visual analogue scale, as well as monitoring pulse, peripheral capillary oxygen saturation and C- reactive protein. It is crucial to recognize the exacerbation and exclude possible differential diagnoses. The recovery time from an acute exacerbation is individual ,on average, 4-6 weeks. Treatment depends on the severity of the exacerbation. Primary treatment options are bronchodilators, oral corticosteroids, and antibiotics. All exacerbations must be adequately treated as frequent exacerbations are a bad prognostic factor leading to lung damage, with high mortality risk.