Rationale: Prospective cohort studies have shown that chronic exposure to particulate matter and traffic related air pollution is associated with reduced survival. However, the effects on non-malignant respiratory mortality are less studied and those reported are less consistent. Objectives: We have investigated the relationship of long-term exposure to air pollution and non-malignant respiratory mortality in 16 cohorts with individual level data within the multi center European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE). Methods: Data from 16 ongoing cohort studies from Europe were used. The total number of subjects was 307,553. There were 1,559 respiratory deaths during follow-up. Measurements: Air pollution exposure was estimated by land use regression models at the baseline residential addresses of study participants and traffic-proximity variables were derived from geographical databases, following a standardized procedure within ESCAPE study. Cohort-specific hazard ratios obtained by Cox proportional hazard models from standardized individual cohort analyses were combined using meta-analyses. Main Results: We found no significant associations between air pollution exposure and non-malignant respiratory mortality. Most hazard ratios were slightly below unity, with the exception of the traffic-proximity indicators. Conclusions: In this study of 16 cohorts there was no association between air pollution exposure and non malignant respiratory mortality.