Background <p>It is thought that gastroesophageal reflux can cause cough.</p> Aim of the study <p>The diagnostic and therapeutic options for suspected reflux-associated cough are presented.</p> Material and methods <p>A nonsystematic literature search was carried out.</p> Results <p>Patients with chronic cough have a&#xa0;disproportionately high incidence of reflux. Reflux of gastric content into the esophagus can trigger cough via vago-vagal reflex mechanisms and via proximal reflux with microaspiration. Reflux also increases the sensitivity of cough receptors. There is no gold standard for the diagnosis of reflux cough. In addition to general measures, high-dose and prolonged proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy is recommended as a&#xa0;first step in the presence of typical reflux symptoms (heartburn, regurgitation). If the PPI therapy is not sufficiently effective and there is still a&#xa0;reasonable suspicion of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), specialized reflux diagnostics should be performed including endoscopy with esophageal biopsies, pH-impedance and, if necessary, high-resolution esophageal manometry. Only limited and often qualitatively insufficient data are available on the treatment of reflux cough. It can be concluded from placebo-controlled studies that PPI therapy will be effective in individual cases if GERD has been confirmed. If reflux symptoms are absent or at most rare, a&#xa0;response at the placebo level can be expected. Surgical measures should only be considered if there is an indication to treat GERD per se; it is not possible to reliably predict the effect on the cough.</p> Discussion <p>If typical reflux symptoms are also reported, true reflux-associated cough can be present. High-dose and prolonged PPI therapy and, in individual cases, specialized reflux diagnostics are recommended only in such cases. The effect of antireflux surgery on cough is unpredictable.</p>