Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a common, burdensome and underdiagnosed condition in Australia. Spirometry is the basis of diagnosis and assessing severity in individual patients. Smoking cessation is the keystone for slowing the rate of decline in lung function. Pulmonary rehabilitation reduces breathlessness, anxiety and depression, and improves exercise capacity and quality of life. Multidisciplinary care plans and individual self-management plans may help to prevent or manage crises. Inhaled bronchodilators provide symptom relief and may increase exercise capacity. Systemic steroids reduce the severity and shorten recovery from acute exacerbations. Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease should receive influenza and pneumococcal vaccination.