Objective To study the risk factors for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Li population in Hainan province, People’s Republic of China. Methods Li people above 40 years of age from Hainan were chosen by stratified random cluster sampling between 2012 and 2014. All participants were interviewed with a home-visiting questionnaire, and spirometry was performed on all eligible participants. Patients with airflow limitation (forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV1]/forced vital capacity [FVC] 20 cigarettes/day, smoking for 40 years or more, second-hand smoking, recurrent respiratory infections, and induced cough were risk factors for COPD, whereas high BMI, high education level, and presence of ventilated kitchen were protective factors. Subsequent multivariate logistic regression model further demonstrated that aging, low BMI, biomass smoke, >20 cigarettes/day, and recurrent respiratory tract infections were high-risk factors for COPD in the Li population. Conclusion The incidence of COPD has a strong correlation with age, BMI, biomass smoke, >20 cigarettes/day, and recurrent respiratory infections, suggesting they were high-risk factors for COPD in Li population.