ObjectiveTo investigate the relationship between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and respiratory failure in patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding and recent prognosis. MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 73 patients with COPD and respiratory failure treated from February 2009 to May 2011. The patients were assigned to the observing group (n=33) and control group (n=40). General characteristics, improvement rates, mortality rates, lengths of hospital stay, endotracheal tube rates and arrhythmia rates were compared between the two groups. ResultsAge, sex, and medical history of the patients were similar in both groups (P>0.05). Compared with the control group, the improvement rate was lower (P<0.001), the mortality rate (P<0.001), length of hospital stay (P<0.001), endotracheal tube rate (P<0.05) and arrhythmia rate (P<0.05) were all higher in the observing group after treatment. ConclusionUpper gastrointestinal bleeding is a high risk factor for short-term prognosis patients with COPD and respiratory failure.