The aim of this update is to describe, in the context of the current literature, major papers from the seven groups of the Paediatric Assembly (Respiratory Physiology; Asthma and Allergy; Cystic Fibrosis; Respiratory Infection and Immunology; Neonatology and Paediatric Intensive Care; Respiratory Epidemiology; and Bronchology) presented during the annual European Respiratory Society congress held in 2012 in Vienna, Austria.