Acute lung injury (ALI) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) are severe clinical disorders that mainly develop from viral respiratory infections, sepsis, and chest injury. Antigen-presenting cells play a pivotal role in propagating uncontrolled inflammation and injury through the excess secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines and recruitment of immune cells. Autophagy, a homeostatic process that involves the degradation of cellular components, is involved in many processes including lung inflammation. Here, we use a polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly(I:C))-induced lung injury mouse model to mimic viral-induced ALI/ARDS and show that disruption of autophagy in macrophages exacerbates lung inflammation and injury, whereas autophagy induction attenuates this process. Therefore, induction of autophagy in macrophages can be a promising therapeutic strategy in ALI/ARDS.