Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a global concern as it has been estimated that COPD will be the third leading cause of death by 2030. It has been reported that the prevalence of COPD globally in adults aged >40 years is approximately 9–10% and the recently reported prevalence in India in adults >35 years is 3.49%. These figures are alarming in a disease which is preventable. However, COPD has not received the required attention and importance from medical community and policy makers to reduce the burden of the disease by adopting appropriate preventive measures as is being done in other chronic noncommunicable diseases. Recently, many scientific advances especially in genetics, pathogenesis and management have been reported in COPD. In order to disseminate the recent developments in COPD, the World Clinics in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine has devoted an entire issue on COPD with contributions from eminent pulmonologists.