Objective：Serum ischemia-modified albumin（IMA）is a newly inflammatory marker associated with oxidative stress，and the levels of serum IMA in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease（COPD）patients were researched in this study. Methods：A total of 156 patients were retrospectively enrolled in this study，including 45 patients with stable COPD and 111 patients with acute exacerbation of COPD（AECOPD），in which 53 patients without respiratory failure and 58 patients with respiratory failure. A total of 114 healthy participants were recruited to the control group. The levels of IMA，neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio（NLR），C-reactive protein（CRP）and pulse oxygen saturation（SpO2）were detected. Results：Compared with the control group，the levels of IMA in stable COPD group and AECOPD group were higher，especially in AECOPD patients（P < 0.05，respectively）. The levels of IMA in AECOPD patients with respiratory failure were significantly higher than that in AECOPD patients without respiratory failure（P < 0.05）. The levels of IMA show positive correlation with NLR and CRP in COPD patients（r=0.228，0.385，all P < 0.05）. Conclusion：Our study indicated that the levels of IMA in COPD patients were significantly higher than those in healthy participants，especially in patients with AECOPD. IMA may be a potential biomarker for evaluating the inflammatory response in COPD patients.