Exhaled nitric oxide (F E NO) is a marker of type-2 inflammation in asthma and is used in its management. However, smokers and ex-smokers have lower F E NO values, and the clinical use of F E NO values in COPD patients is unclear. Therefore, we investigated if F E NO had a relationship to different COPD characteristics in smoking and ex-smoking subjects. Patients with COPD (n ¼ 533, 58% females) were investigated while in stable condition. Measurements of F E NO 50 , blood cell counts, IgE sensitisation and lung function were performed. Medication reconciliation was used to establish medication usage. Smokers (n ¼ 150) had lower F E NO 50 9 (8, 10) ppb (geometric mean, 95% confidence interval) than ex-smokers did (n ¼ 383) 15 (14, 16) ppb, p < 0.001. F E NO 50 was not associated with blood eosinophil or neutrophil levels in smokers, but in ex-smokers significant associations were found (r ¼ 0.23, p < 0.001) and (r ¼ -0.18, p ¼ 0.001), respectively. Lower F E NO values were associated with lower FEV 1 % predicted in both smokers (r ¼ 0.17, p ¼ 0.040) and ex-smokers (r ¼ 0.20, p < 0.001). Neither the smokers nor ex-smokers with reported asthma or IgE sensitisation were linked to an increase in F E NO 50 . Ex-smokers treated with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) had lower F E NO 50 14 (13, 15) ppb than non-treated ex-smokers 17 (15, 19) ppb, p ¼ 0.024. This was not found in smokers (p ¼ 0.325). F E NO is associated with eosinophil inflammation and the use of ICS in ex-smoking COPD subjects, but not in smoking subjects suggesting that the value of F E NO as an inflammatory marker is more limited in smoking subjects. The association found between low F E NO values and low lung function requires further investigation.