Cough is one of the most common symptoms that makes parents search medical aid. For this reason knowledge of the rules of cough management is crucial for both, paediatricians and general practitioners. In this article we present a step-by-step procedure of diagnosis and treatment that should be applied in chronically coughing children. Depending on the source, chronic cough is defined by the presence of cough for over 4 or 8 weeks (American College of Chest Physicians or British Thoracic Society guidelines respectively). Defining the type of chronic cough - specific cough or non-specificisolated cough - remains the backbone of the diagnostic process. Specific cough is characterised by the presence of pointers suggestive of specific disorders in history, clinical examination and/or spirometry or chest radiography. In the case of non-specific isolated cough the above-mentioned pointers are absent. This article contains a description of subsequent stages in the process of reaching a diagnosis in a chronically coughing child. .