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Early-stage subglottic lesions are easily misdiagnosed as bronchial asthma. We report on 4 cases of rare subglottic lesions. Our aim is to provide insights for the accurate diagnosis of subglottic lesions. Four cases of subglottic lesions with bronchial asthma as the initial symptom were studied retrospectively. The lesions were a mixed tumor, a mucoepidermoid carcinoma, laryngeal amyloidosis, and relapsing chondritis. All of the patients had received standard but ineffective antiasthma treatment when their tumors were in the early stage. Each patient underwent a tracheotomy because of a laryngeal obstruction. Each patient was treated properly and in a timely manner after the primary disease had been diagnosed, and the tracheal cannula was removed; however, 1 patient survived with a tracheal cannula in place. We must be aware of the risk of ineffective treatment because subglottic lesions may be misdiagnosed as bronchial asthma. The accurate diagnosis and timely treatment of the primary disease are critical to a good prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]