Objective: To investigate the effect of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) on postoperative cardiopulmonary complications and quality of life in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: The data of 122 patients with NSCLC who successfully underwent minimally invasive surgery in the tumor surgery of Sanya People’s Hospital from October 2018 to May 2021 were analyzed retrospectively. According to whether cardiopulmonary complications occurred within 2 weeks after operation, they were divided into a complication group (n=34) and a non-complication group (n=88). According to whether COPD was combined before operation, they were divided into a simple NSCLC group (n=85) and a combined COPD group (n=37). The Quality of Life Scale-30 (QLQ-C30) for cancer patients was completed at the first follow-up visit. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to analyze the relationship between COPD and postoperative cardiopulmonary complications in patients with NSCLC. Results: The age, smoking history, COPD, and preoperative hemoglobin (Hb) level in the complication group were higher than those in the non-complication group (P<0.05). The incidence of cardiopulmonary complications in the Combined COPD group was 40.54%, which was significantly higher than 22.35% in the simple NSCLC group (P<0.05); the scores of five functional dimensions of QLQ-C30 scale were significantly lower than those in the simple NSCLC group (P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that COPD (OR=1.492, 95%CI: 1.134–2.608) was an independent risk factor for postoperative cardiopulmonary complications in patients with NSCLC (P<0.05). Conclusions: The postoperative quality of life of NSCLC patients with COPD is significantly lower, and COPD will increase the risk of cardiopulmonary complications after NSCLC.