Objective To investigate the spatial distribution characteristics of emphysema in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients and its correlation with pulmonary function test (PFT). Methods We recruited 61 patients with COPD and 91 normal subjects to test their lung function and perform CT quantitative scanning. COPD patients were divided into four grades based on the diagnostic criteria of 2018 Global Strategies for Chronic Pulmonary Disease Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention. Their images were imported into the digital lung test platform for analysis, and the percentage of volume (LAA%) of low density area of each lung lobe was calculated. We analyzed the spatial distribution characteristics of emphysema in COPD patients and its correlation with pulmonary function parameters. Results There was no correlation between LAA% of the middle right lung lobe and LAA% of the lower right lung lobe, DLCO% and RV/TLC. The correlation between LAA% of the upper lobe and lung dispersion function (DLCO%) was higher than that of lower lobe , and the correlation between the lower lobe and pulmonary airflow limitation was higher than that of the upper lobe. With the increase of COPD grade, LAA% of the pulmonary lobe and each pulmonary lobe gradually increased to a certain extent. Conclusion The quantitative measurement of lung volume percentage in low density area (LAA%) by CT canning reflects the severity of lung function damage and the degree of emphysema without lung lobes, which is of certain clinical value for the clinical evaluation of lung volume reduction surgery.