Introduction: Dynamic hyperinflation (Dh) is one of the ventilatory mechanisms that may contribute towards limiting the activities of daily living (ADls) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (CopD). the objectives of this study were to evaluate the presence of Dh, by means of inspiratory capacity (IC), IC / total lung capacity (tlC) ratio and by the sensation of dyspnea, following an ADl performed using the upper limbs. method: the participants were 32 individuals aged 54 to 87 years (69.4 ± 7.4) who presented moderate-to-severe CopD. the patients selected underwent pulmonary function tests, spirometry and whole-body plethysmography. For the spirometric and pulmonary volume maneuvers, a conventional system was used (vmax22 Autobox). the IC was determined using a vmax229d ventilatory measurement system. the patients were asked to lift up pots weighing between 0.5 and 5.0 kg over a five-minute period, picking up the pots from a surface at waist level and putting them onto a shelf above head height. All the patients were evaluated regarding IC and using the Borg scale for dyspnea. the data were analyzed using Student's t test for paired samples, pearson's correlation and the wilcoxon test (p< 0.05). Results: there were reductions in IC and IC/tlC (p= 0.0001) following the ADl. the dyspnea increased after the exercise (p< 0.05). Conclusion: the ADl using the upper limbs caused Dh, as shown by the reductions in IC and IC/tlC and also by the increase in dyspnea.