Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common problem encountered in both primary and secondary care and contributes to a substantial workload for medical practitioners in district general hospitals, teaching hospitals (about 10 of hospital admission) and the community. COPD treatment frequently involves a number of multidisciplinary team members; this series of articles would be of interest to a large number of individuals. The ABC of COPD provides easily accessible, reliable information outlining the aetiology, natural history, diagnosis and current evidence based management of COPD. Treatment recommendations are based on NICE guidelines published in 2004 for the management of COPD.