Cadmium (Cd) induces centrilobular emphysema and is suspected to contribute to tobacco related lung diseases as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study aimed to check whether the inflammatory process observed in rats exposed to nebulised Cd is resistant to betamethasone as observed in COPD and to determine the influence of this drug on airspace enlargement together with the MMP-2-9/TIMP-1-2 imbalance. Our results showed that betamethasone induced emphysema by itself in healthy rats. Moreover, pre-treatment of rats with betamethasone could only partially modulate the increase in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cell counts and the absence of preventive effect of this compound against emphysema development is associated with its inability to rebalance the MMP-2-9/TIMP-1-2 ratio.