Objective To investigate clinical value of respiratory support combined with nutrition support in elderly patients with severe pneumonia. Methods Clinical data of 48 elderly patients with severe pneumonia from February 2003 to December 2011 were retrospectively analyzed. They were divided into two groups. The control group contained 28 patients being treated before 2009, who were not treated actively with standard management or support of respiratory system, or nutrition support. Other 20 patients hospitalized between January 2009 and December 2011 were treated with the above measures(treatment group). Results The cure rate of treatment group was obviously higher than that of control group (90.0% vs 71.4%), and the mortality rate was lower (10.0% vs 28.6%). There were significant differences between two groups (P＜0.05 for all). Conclusion It is necessary for elderly patients with severe pneumonia to receive standard management and support of respiratory system, combined with nutrition support, which can improve the cure rate of severe pneumonia.