Abstract： Objective： To observe the curative effect of the combination use of acupuncture and drug cupping therapy on acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Methods ： A total of 86 patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were selected and divided into the control group and the study group according to the random number table method，with 43 cases in each group. The control group was given routine modern medical treatment， and the study group was additionally given acupuncture combined with drug cupping therapy based on the treatment of the control group. The clinical effects，and the changes of traditional Chinese medicine syndrome scores，and levels of pulmonary function indexes [forced vital capacity (FVC)， forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1)， and FEV1/FVC]，blood gas parameters [partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood (PaO2)，partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2)， pondus hydrogenii (pH)， oxygen saturation in arterial blood (SaO2)]， and of inflammatory factors [C-reactive protein (CRP)， interleukin-6 (IL-6)， interleukin-1β (IL-1β)] before and after treatment were compared between the two groups. Results：The total effective rate was 97.67% in the study group and 83.72% in the control group， the difference being significant (P＜0.05). After treatment， the traditional Chinese medicine syndrome scores of cough and wheezing， expectoration， fever and dry mouth，and palpitation and dry stool in the two groups were decreased when compared with those before treatment (P＜0.05)， and the above five scores in the study group were lower than those in the control group (P＜0.05). After treatment，the levels of FVC，FEV1 and FEV1/FVC in the two groups were increased when compared with those before treatment (P＜0.05)，and the above three levels in the study group were higher than those in the control group (P＜0.05). After treatment，the values of PaO2，pH and SaO2 in the two groups were elevated when compared with those before treatment (P＜0.05)， and the PaCO2 values were reduced when compared with those before treatment (P＜0.05)； the values of PaO2， pH and SaO2 in the study group were higher than those in the control group (P＜0.05)，and the PaCO2 value was lower than that in the control group (P＜0.05). After treatment，the levels of CRP，IL-6 and IL-1β in the two groups were down-regulated when compared with those before treatment (P＜0.05)， and the above three levels in the study group were lower than those in the control group (P＜0.05). Conclusion：The combination use of acupuncture and drug cupping therapy has a good clinical effect on acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease， which can effectively relieve the clinical symptoms， reduce the level of inflammatory factors，and improve the lung function and blood gas indexes.