Objective To investigate the current status of quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Nanning, analyze the urban-rural differences, and compare the influencing factors of quality of life between the two groups. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted. From September 2023 to November 2024, 404 patients with stable COPD treated at the First People's Hospital of Nanning were enrolled as research subjects by convenience sampling. According to their long-term residence, they were divided into an urban group (n=230) or a rural group (n=174). A self-designed general information questionnaire was used to collect demographic and clinical data, and the St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) score was applied to evaluate their quality of life. Multiple linear regression models were used to analyze the influencing factors of quality of life in urban and rural groups, respectively. Results The SGRQ total score of COPD patients in Nanning was (15.51±3.20), with scores of (16.17±7.17) for the symptom dimension, (12.01±0.35) for the activity dimension, and (16.41±2.56) for the impact dimension. The SGRQ total score in the urban group (15.20±3.22) was lower than that in the rural group (15.91±3.14) (P<0.05), and the scores of the activity dimension and impact dimension in the urban group were also lower than those in the rural group (all P<0.05). Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that for urban COPD patients, home oxygen therapy was an influencing factor of the SGRQ total score and the scores of symptoms and activity dimensions, disease duration and smoking were influencing factors for the activity dimension score, age was an influencing factor for the impact dimension score (all P<0.05); for rural COPD patients, disease duration was an influencing factor of SGRQ total score and the symptom dimension score, exercise habit was an influencing factor of the SGRQ total score and the scores of symptom and impact dimensions, age was an influencing factor of the SGRQ total score and the activity dimension score, the number of comorbid chronic diseases and per capita monthly household income were influencing factors of the impact dimension score (all P<0.05). Conclusion There are urban-rural differences in the quality of life of COPD patients in Nanning, with urban patients having better quality of life than rural patients. The influencing factors differ between urban and rural patients: home oxygen therapy, disease duration, smoking status, and age affect urban patients' quality of life, while disease duration, exercise habit, age, number of comorbid chronic diseases, and per capita monthly household income affect rural patients'. Targeted health management intervention strategies should be developed according to population characteristic strategies to comprehensively improve patients' quality of life.