Sufentanil is widely utilized as an opioid analgesic during the perioperative period due to its rapid onset, potent analgesic effects, quick recovery time, and minimal impact on respiratory function and hemodynamics. However, when anesthetists administer sufentanil intravenously to patients under general anesthesia, it often leads to coughing episodes, and in severe cases, patients may experience chest wall stiffness, resulting in asphyxia, reflux, and aspiration, thereby posing a threat to patient safety. Intravenous sufentanil induced coughing response mechanism is complex, the reflex from the opioid μ receptor activation to vagus nerve excitation to transmit the relevant signals to the center to cause bronchial and respiratory muscle contraction, the vocal folds suddenly open to produce sound coughing, the whole process of the influence of a wide range of factors from a variety of perspectives to analyze the causative factors, to take appropriate precautionary measures is of paramount importance.This article aims to review the current research progress on the cough response induced by intravenous sufentanil in the clinical setting, offering valuable insights for the appropriate clinical application of sufentanil.