The word cough refers to a powerful, explosive expiration that clears the tracheobronchial tract of fluids and foreign items. This review article aimed to outline the plants used in ethnobotany and traditional culture for the treatment and alleviation of cough. Alternative therapy is required due to the issues that arise when using traditional opioid antitussive medications, such as codeine and compounds similar to codeine, to treat cough in a variety of respiratory disorders. Medicinal plants may contain compounds with strong antitussive benefits and few side effects. Treatment rationalization is made possible by recent advancements in modern phytotherapy, such as the identification of active compounds that provide therapeutic activity and their measurement in medicinal medications, particularly about dose and the tracking of side effects. This review aims to explain the current trends and uses of medicinal plant species that are used as an expectorants and cough suppressants.