Objective To explore the changes of serum hypoxia inducible factor-I α (HIF-1 α) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and its clinical significance.Methods Using retrospective analysis, we selected 124 COPD patients admitted to our hospital from January 2018 to January 2020. According to the COPD grading standard, the patients were divided into 46 cases in addition and recombination, 78 cases in stable group, and 50 cases of healthy physical examination during the same period were selected as the control group. The levels of serum HIF-1α, airway remodeling-related indicators, and inflammatory response-related indicators were detected in all subjects, and the correlation between HIF-1α content and the levels of inflammatory response-related indicators and airway remodeling-related indicators was analyzed. Results The level of HIF-1α in the recombination and stabilization group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P＜0.01); the level of HIF-1α in the recombination and stabilization group was significantly higher than that in the stable group (P＜0.01); the NGF, b-FGF, TIMP in the recombination and stabilization group-1. The levels of MMP-9 and VEGF were significantly higher than those of the control group (P＜0.01); the levels of recombinant MMP-9, TIMP-1, VEGF, NGF, and b-FGF were significantly higher than those of the stable group (P＜0.01). The levels of APN, IL-17 and IL-33 in the recombination and stabilization group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P＜0.01); the levels of APN, IL-17 and IL-33 in the recombination and stabilization group were significantly higher than those in the stable group (P＜0.01). Pearson test found that the serum HIF-1α content in patients with COPD was negatively correlated with APN (P＜0.05); it was related to IL-17, IL-33 and NGF, b-FGF, TIMP-1, MMP-9. There was a significant positive correlation between VEGF content (P＜0.01). Conclusion HIF-1α is involved in the development of COPD and is closely related to the severity of COPD patients, which may be related to airway inflammation and airway remodeling.