OBJECTIVE： To observe the clinical efficacy and safety of ambroxol hydrochloride in the adjuvant treatment of elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. METHODS： 94 elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were randomly divided into control group （48 cases） and observation group （46 cases）. Control group was given oxygen inhalation， antispasmodic asthma， expectorant and antitussive， antibiotics against infections， bronchodilation drugs， glucocorticoids and other conventional treatment； observation group was additionally given 30 mg Ambroxol hydrochloride injection， adding into 200 ml 5％ glucose injection by intravenous infusion， twice a day. The treatment course for both groups was 2 weeks. The clinical efficacy， improvement of cough and sputum volume before and after treatment in 2 groups were observed， and incidence of adverse reactions was recorded. RESULTS： The clinical efficacy in observation group was significantly higher than control group， reducing degree of cough and sputum volume were significantly superior to control group， the differences were statistically significant （P＜0.05）； and there were no significant differences in the incidence of total adverse reactions， nausea， stomach heartburn， rash and indigestion between 2 groups（P＞0.05）. CONCLUSIONS： Based on the conventional treatment， ambroxol hydrochloride can effectively relieve symptoms and improve efficacy in the adjuvant treatment of elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease， with no obvious adverse reactions and reliable safety.