OBJECTIVES: To determine the focus of research on economic burden in gastrointestinal disorders from studies published in 2014. METHODS: An evidence surveillance process was established based on a systematic search of PubMed, incorporating all studies published from 2010 and updated weekly, with a final search on 1 June 2015. Abstracts identified by the search for costs or resource use outcomes in gastrointestinal disorders were identified. Articles were included if they reported results from a primary research study, systematic review or economic model. Economic outcomes were identified, where possible, from the abstract alone. RESULTS: The economic burden search identified 1,870 articles published in 2014, with 968 meeting the inclusion criteria for any disease. Of these, 88 (9%) were in gastrointestinal disorders, based on ICD-10 classifications. Almost half (41 articles) were observational studies, 32 were RCTs or comparative studies, 11 were economic evaluations and 4 were literature reviews. Most of the studies were relevant to surgical procedures for colorectal surgery (13 articles), gall stones or cholecystitis (11), appendicitis (7) or hernia repair (7), with 12 articles reporting dental procedures.  Only eleven articles reported costs or resource use associated with medical treatment, mainly for inflammatory bowel disease (6 articles) or peptic ulcer (2). The USA was the most common setting, based on abstract text or author affiliations (27 articles), followed by the UK (7), Italy and China (6 each) and Spain (4). Indirect costs were reported in only 9 articles, of which 3 reported productivity losses. No abstract reported caregiver or social care costs. Direct costs were evaluated in 60 articles and healthcare resource use in 69 articles. CONCLUSIONS: Recent research on economic burden in gastrointestinal disorders has focused disproportionately on direct costs and resource use associated with surgical procedures. Up-to-date data on indirect costs, and direct costs of non-surgical interventions, remains sparse.