Objective To determine the therapeutic effect of intermediate care (IC) mode on rehabilitation of the elderly patients with moderate or severe chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD). Methods A total of 124 elderly patients with whole clinical data, suffering from acute exacerbation of COPD and then gotten improved after hospitalization in Beijing Geriatric Hospital during January 2015 and June 2017 were recruited in this study. They were randomly divided into IC group and control group(n=62 for each group). The patients of the IC group adopted IC mode on the basis of general clinical treatment, while those of the control group was treated only with general internal medicine. Their BODE index [body mass index (BMI), measure of airflow obstruction, dyspnea score and exercise capacity], health related quality of life (HRQL), results of blood gas analysis were compared before and in 15,0 and 60 d after the treatment.The fall scores, times of acute exacerbation of COPD, and re-hospitalization were recorded. SPSS statistics 20.0 was used for data analysis. The measurement data were expressed as mean±standard deviation, and Student′s t test was employed for the comparison between groups. Enumeration data were expressed as percentage, and inter-group comparison was carried out with Chi-square test. Results There were no statistical differences in all indicators between the 2 groups before treatment (P>0.05). Compared with the following indicators before treatment, no obvious differences were seen between the 2 groups in 15 d after the treatment, including forced expiratory volume in one second/forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC, FEV1%), 6-minute walking test (6MWT), BMI, Saint George′s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), modified British Medical Research Committee respiratory distress scale (mMRC) score, BODE score, partial pressure of oxygen (PaO₂), partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO₂), and fall score (P>0.05). But the above indicators were significantly improved in 30 and 60 d after treatment (P<0.05). After treatment, the improvement of FEV1%, 6MWT, BMI, SGRQ, PaO₂ and PaCO₂ in the IC group was significant in 30 and 60 d (P<0.05), and the decrease of mMRC score was not obvious (P>0.05). There was no notable difference in BODE index between the 2 groups in 15 d (P>0.05), but the differences were significant in 30 and 60 d after treatment (P<0.05). After 30 days′ treatment, there was no significant improvement in the risk score, times of acute exacerbation and re-hospitalization in the 2 groups (P>0.05), but the 3 indicators were significantly reduced after 60 days′ treatment (P<0.05). Conclusion IC mode can significantly reduce the BODE index, improve PaO₂ and decrease PaCO₂, lower the incidence of falls, times of acute exacerbation and re-hospitalization in the elderly patients with moderate and severe COPD.