This article presents a literature review of the benefits of pulmonary rehabilitation in the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Pulmonary rehabilitation has been shown to decrease patient mortality and hospital admissions. The literature search resulted in 13 articles being selected for review. Three themes were identified: improvement in exercise tolerance, improvement in breathlessness and improvement in health-related quality of life. This review enhances our knowledge of the mechanisms through which pulmonary rehabilitation benefits patients and provides an evidence base to guide nursing decisions regarding patient education, health promotion and psychological support.