Cough is a common symptom of respiratory diseases and facilitates the removal of respiratory secretions and harmful factors, but frequent and severe coughing has a serious impact on patients’ work, life and social activities. Many patients are misdiagnosed as “chronic bronchitis” or “bronchiectasis” for a long time. Many patients are misdiagnosed as “chronic bronchitis” or “bronchiectasis” for a long time and are treated ineffectively with a large number of antibacterial drugs or repeatedly undergo various tests due to unclear diagnosis, which not only increases patients’ pain but also increases their financial burden. With the increasing concern about cough, European and American countries have conducted various studies on the causes of cough and its treatment in the past 20 years, and have basically identified the common causes of chronic cough. In China, clinical studies on the diagnosis and treatment of the causes of cough have also been conducted in recent years, and preliminary results have been obtained. In order to further standardize the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic cough in China and to strengthen clinical and basic research on cough, the Asthma Group of the Chinese Medical Association’s Branch of Respiratory Diseases organized relevant experts to develop a draft guideline on the diagnosis and treatment of cough, taking into account the results of clinical studies on cough in China and abroad, in order to provide scientific diagnosis and effective treatment for different types of cough.