Pertussis has long been considered a childhood disease. Recently, studies from the developed world have shown that, unlike in the pre-vaccine era, adolescents and adults are the major population of current resurgence of pertussis. However, infants are still the absolute majority of reported cases in China, which is closely related to our lack of clinical understanding for adolescent and adult cases. In the vaccine era, most adolescent and adult pertussis cases are mild and do not seek medical attention. Due to lack of typical symptoms and laboratory tests, they are often misdiagnosed or never diagnosed. At present, Chinese doctors should pay more attention to pertussis among adolescents and adults, to carry out extensive and in-depth studies, then recognize the diversity of pertussis manifestations; Timely laboratory tests for suspected patients should be conducted to achieve early diagnosis. The infant could be protected from severe illness and death by promoting the management of the adolescent and adult pertussis cases.