This study analyses the evolution of the bibliometric indicators of productivity and repercussion of European Union (EU) research into the respiratory system during the period from 1987-1998, describing the geographical distribution. Using MedLine, a selection was made of those articles by EU authors published between 1987-1998 in 38 respiratory system journals (classification from the Institute for Scientific Information). The journals, country of origin, number of articles and the relation to socioeconomic data, productivity index, visibility index, expected impact factor (EIF) and relative impact factor (RIF) were all analysed. The number of EU publications in respiratory system journals experienced an exponential increase, going from 606 articles (14.3% of world production) in 1987, to 2,325 (33.2%) in 1998. During this same period, the EIF increased from 1,258 to 2,111. The greatest gross productivities were those of the UK, France, Italy and Germany, although when corrected for number of inhabitants, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark headed the list. The countries with the greatest mean EIF were the Netherlands, the UK, Spain and Belgium. In conclusion, productivity and repercussions of European Union research of the respiratory system experienced an important increase during this period.