We investigated whether the quality of management of COPD in general practice could be improved by the participation of general practitioners and their staff in a COPD-specific educational programme. One-hundred and fifty-four doctors participated in the study, and 2549 patient record forms were included in the first audit and 2394 in the second audit. We observed a significantly increased utilisation of spirometry from the first (52.7%) to the second audit (71.4%) (p < 0,001) and improvement in other parameters describing the quality of management. We conclude that participation in an educational programme can improve the quality of COPD care in general practice.