Introduction: Pulmonary emphysema without airflow obstruction is one of the symptoms on which chronic obstructive pulmonary disease can manifest. Objective: To compare patients with pulmonary emphysema in computed tomography with and without airflow obstruction by spirometry. Methods: Cross-sectional study in subjects over 40 years of age who underwent spirometry and chest tomography in a specialized medical center between 2018 and 2020. A descriptive analysis was performed, summarizing the qualitative variables in frequencies and percentages and the quantitative variables in mean and standard deviation if their distribution was normal, and median and interquartile range if their distribution was not normal. Four groups were constructed based on the presence or absence of tomographic findings of emphysema and pulmonary function tests. Results: Subjects without emphysema with obstructive alteration presented a greater exposure to wood smoke with 62.5 % and less exposure to smoking with 29.2 %. Forced vital capacity was lower in subjects with emphysema without obstructive alteration when compared with subjects without emphysema and normal lung function tests, forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity ratio was similar in these last two groups. Conclusion: Subjects with emphysema without obstructive spirometric alteration have a frequent history of smoking, high frequency of dyspnea and lower frequency of cough when compared with patients with obstructive alteration in pulmonary function, the forced vital capacity of subjects with emphysema without obstruction is lower. to that of subjects without emphysema or obstruction.