More than 400,000 people in Denmark suffers from chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) with implications for their quality of life (QoL). As a chronic disease rehabilitation of COPD is important. Today this is the responsibility of the healthcare centres in the municipalities in cooperation with the general practitioners and hospitals. OBJECTIVES: Investigate the improvement in quality of life for the COPD patients entering the health care centres for rehabilitation. METHODS: 22 Danish municipality healthcare centres (20% of Danish municipalities and 50% of current rehabilitation centres) participated in the project. Each centre had their own rehabilitation strategy and included COPD patients undergoing rehabilitation in the project. QoL was one focus for measurement of the effect of the rehabilitation. The 15D instrument was chosen due to its high correlation with typical COPD symptoms, pulmonary function and test capacity, and studies has found it sensitive in COPD. Besides QoL other effect indicators were 6 min. walking distance and shuttle walk, as well as demographic data was recorded in a database. Data was measured before and after rehabilitation in a longitudinal cohort design to measure change in outcome due to rehabilitation. RESULTS: 396 COPD patients completing rehabilitation  (40% males, mean age of 68 years, BMI 25.8, 29% current smokers, 65% ex-smokers, and 40 pack years of smoking) were included. Comparing pre- and post-rehabilitation the QALY value measured with the 15D instrument increased from 0.8 to 0.84 (p>0.01) having rehabilitation. This was also regarded as a clinical significant change (>0.03). Comparable with the improvement in quality of life both 6 min. walk and shuttle walk improved for the average patient comparing pre- and post-rehabilitation.  CONCLUSIONS: The study shows that rehabilitation activities of COPD patients in the healthcare centres in Danish municipalities is important as it significantly improves patients quality of life.