In the past, asthma airway inflammation was believed to be predominantly characterised by eosinophilic inflammation and type 2 helper T (Th2) lymphocytes, unlike chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), where inflammation is characterised predominantly by neutrophilic inflammation and CD8 lymphocytes. This difference in the pattern of inflammation makes the clinical extremes of asthma and COPD easily distinguishable, with differences in clinical picture and age of the patients. However, over the years, it has been observed that in older patients the presentation of asthma and COPD may converge clinically and the conditions may mimic each other. Airway remodelling that develops over time in some asthma patients leads to irreversible airway obstruction resembling COPD. In contrast, reversible airway obstruction can occur in patients with COPD, with the result that these patients may resemble those with asthma. The condition in which a person has clinical features of both asthma and COPD is called the asthma-COPD overlap syndrome (ACOS). The prevalence of ACOS is estimated to be 15 -45% in people with obstructive airway disease and increases with age.In a recent review, Postma and Rabe [1] discuss studies that have shown the heterogeneity of pathophysiology of asthma and COPD. Therefore it may be difficult to distinguish asthma from COPD in patients who have pathophysiological and clinical features of both. The authors emphasised that there is still a paucity of data on how to diagnose and treat ACOS and answers to the primary review questions (i.e. how would one make appropriate ACOS diagnosis and what is the appropriate treatment for ACOS?) are not evidencebased. Nevertheless, the review highlighted important points on pathophysiology, clinical features, diagnosis and treatment of obstructive airway disease assuming that asthma and COPD are two extreme ends of the disease spectrum with ACOS in between.