OBJECTIVES: The impact of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) on healthcare resources, productivity and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is under-recognized and the condition under-treated. The objective of this study was to identify the extent of the human and economic impact of CRS. METHODS: A comprehensive literature search of Medline and EMBASE (2000- January 2015) was performed. Eligibility criteria included patient-reported CRS or a CRS diagnosis, retrospective and prospective designs. Abstracts or full text articles were systematically selected if they presented data for patients with a diagnosis of CRS, and search terms relevant to CRS, and its human and economic burden were applied. RESULTS: The search yielded 786 titles and ultimately 32 abstracts/articles met the eligibility criteria. People with CRS have significantly worse physical, emotional, mental and social HRQoL compared to the general population. They are also three times as likely to report their health as poor compared to those with another chronic condition, and among those with medically refractory CRS, 49% report anxiety/depression, while 31% report problems with usual daily activities. In addition, CRS is associated with a significant rise in costs due to an increased need for primary/secondary care, emergency room visits, and prescription refills. Comparatively, medically refractory CRS resulted in a significantly higher indirect cost than diabetes, migraine or severe asthma; the cost of lost productivity was estimated to be US$10,077 annually per patient in the US, and increased with severity. The longer the time delay between diagnosis and sinus surgery (SS), the greater the need for CRS-related visits and prescriptions, rendering delayed SS economically inefficient. However, the cost of managing complications of SS (nasal bleeds and cerebrospinal fluid leaks) more than doubles the cost of the procedure itself. CONCLUSIONS: Results consistently demonstrate that CRS imposes a substantial human and economic burden on patients and society, especially medically refractory CRS.