Objective To investigate the expression levels and clinical significance of plasma miR-205 and miR-21 in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(AECOPD).Methods A total of 140 COPD pa-tients admitted from January to December 2022 were selected,and 70 healthy people who underwent physical examination dur-ing the same period were selected as the healthy group.According to whether COPD entered the acute exacerbation stage,the patients were divided into acute exacerbation group(n =63)and stable group(n =77).The plasma levels of miR-205 and miR-21 in the three groups were detected by fluorescence quantitative PCR.The predictive value of plasma miR-205 and miR-21 for the occurrence of AECOPD was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve.The influencing fac-tors of the occurrence of AECOPD were investigated by multivariate Logistic regression analysis.Results Plasma miR-205 and miR-21 levels in COPD patients in stable group and acute exacerbation group were higher than those in healthy group,and the levels in acute exacerbation group were higher than those in stable group(P<0.05).The area under the ROC curve(AUC)of plasma miR-205 and miR-21 in combination for prediction was higher than that for prediction alone.Plasma miR-205 and miR-21 levels of AECOPD patients in death group were higher than those in survival group(P<0.05).Plasma miR-205 and plasma miR-21 high expression and acute physiological and chronic health status Ⅱ system scores≥2 were risk fac-tors for 28-day mortality after admission in AECOPD patients(P<0.01).Conclusion The expression levels of miR-205 and miR-21 in plasma of AECOPD patients were significantly increased,which could be used as biological indicators for early diagnosis and prognosis,and the combination of the two could predict the prognosis of AECOPD patients more effectively.