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Aim: To explore how spouses of patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) experience their role as informal caregiver. Background: Informal caregiver spouses are of pivotal importance in the way that patients with severe COPD cope with their life including their opportunity to stay at home and avoid hospitalizations. However, caregiving is associated with increased morbidity and mortality among caregivers. There is a need of knowledge of the role as informal caregiver spouse to patients with severe COPD, in order to develop interventions aimed at reducing the caregiver burden and retaining the informal caregiver spouses9 health. Design: The study had a qualitative exploratory design. The data collection and analysis was based on framework method. Methods: Three focus group interviews were conducted in November 2013 with twenty-two spouses of patients with severe COPD. Findings: The key theme was that the role and the responsibility of the informal caregiver spouses were undefined, constantly changing and multifaceted . The fives underlying themes were: constantly in a state of alertness, social life modified, maintaining normality, ambivalence in the relationship and a willingness to be involved. Conclusion: The informal caregiver spouses are challenged by undefined and constantly changing roles and tasks with ambiguity about expectations from both their surroundings and the health system. To ease the caregiver burden nurses should take responsibility for matching expectations and involving the informal caregiver spouses in decision making.