Objective To compare the clinical effect of different modes of mechanical ventilation in treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD) with respiratory failure. Methods 50 cases of patients with COPD and respiratory failure treated in our hospital from May 2011 to December 2013 were admitted,and were randomly divided into control group and observation group,25 cases in each group,the control group were given with Bi-level positive airway pressure(Bi PAP) model treatment,the observation group were given with synchronized intermittent ventilation(SIMV)instruction combined with pressure support ventilation(PSV) model. Forced expiratory volume in 1 s(FEV1),forced vital capacity(FVC),peak expiratory flow rate(PEFR) of two groups before and after treatment was compared;arterial oxygen tension(Pa O2),carbon dioxide partial pressure(Pa CO2),the level of changes in respiratory rate(RR),heart rate(HR) and other indicators of two groups before and after treatment was observed. Results After treatment,FEV1,FVC,PEFR of the observation group was higher than that of the control group,the difference was significant(P0.05);Pa CO2,RR,HR in observation group was lower than that in the control group,and Pa O2 was higher than that of control group,the difference was significant(P 0.05). Conclusion Compared with Bi PAP model,SIMV combined with PSV in treatment of COPD and respiratory failure can help to improve patients′ lung function and blood gas index,promote the recovery of patients′condition.