Objective To explore the application effect of self-management education combined with high-quality nursing in community elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).Methods From January 2019 to February 2020, 40 elderly COPD patients admitted to Jiujiang First People′s Hospital, Jiangxi Province were selected as the research subjects.They were divided into the control group (n=20) and the observation group (n=20) by using random number table method.In the control group, high-quality nursing was used, and in the observation group, selfmanagement education combined with high-quality nursing was used.The self-care ability and mental state of the two groups of patients before and 30 days after nursing were compared between the two groups.The compliance behavior was also compared.Results After 30 days of nursing, the scores of self-care ability of the two groups were higher than those before nursing, and the score of self-care ability of the observation group was higher than that of the control group, the differences were statistically significant (P＜0.05).After 30 days of nursing, the scores of self-rating scale(SAS) and self-rating depression scale (SDS) were lower than before nursing, and the SAS and SDS scores of the observation group were lower than those of the control group, with statistical differences (P＜0.05).After 30 days of nursing,the regular medication rate of the observation group was 90.00, and the medication compliance rate was 95.00%, and the moderate exercise rate was 85.00%, higher than those of the control group, accounting for 60.00%, 65.00%, and 55.00%, the differences were statistically significant (P＜0.05).Conclusion Self-management education combined with high-quality nursing can improve the self-care ability of elderly COPD patients in the community, improve their psychological state, and strengthen patients′ compliance behaviors, which is worthy of promotion.