Insomnia is prevalent in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).We conducted a population-based case-control study to evaluate the effects of hypnotics on the risk of adverse respiratory events in patients with COPD.The case-control study was investigated using data retrieved from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. Patients with newly diagnosed adverse respiratory events (pneumonia, COPD with acute exacerbation, acute respiratory failure, and cardiopulmonary arrest) were included in the case group. Patients with COPD and no history of adverse respiratory events were randomly selected for the control group, which was frequency-matched with the case group according to index date, age (per 10 years), and sex. Patients who had used hypnotics within 1 month meant active users. The odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of were calculated using univariable and multivariable logistic regression models.Most of the study participants were male (71.6%), and the mean ages of the participants in the case and control groups were 69.2 (±12.4) and 67.5 (±12.3) years, respectively. After potential confounding factors were adjusting for, the adjusted ORs of adverse respiratory events were 12.0 for active users of benzodiazepines (95% CI, 8.11-17.6) and 10.5 for active users of nonbenzodiazepines (95% CI, 7.68-14.2) compared with the adjusted ORs of those who never used hypnotics.The results of this epidemiological study suggested that hypnotics increased the risk of adverse respiratory events in patients with COPD.