Many advancements in transition cow management and housing have been made over the last decade. The objectives of this presentation are to describe: 1) research to date on the housing of transition dairy cows before giving birth, and 2) opportunities for future research in this area. A focus of transition cow housing research has been on the effect of the cow’s social environment during the 3 weeks before calving on behavior and health. Specifically, researchers have measured the impacts of overcrowding and regrouping on behavior, physiological biomarkers, and clinical signs of disease. The results of these studies are variable, especially when assessing one factor alone. However, cows likely experience cumulative stressors during transition, which may have a greater effect on their health. For example, cows that experienced a combination of overstocking, unpredictable feeding times, and social instability were more likely to develop endometritis after calving compared with those housed in more predictable environments. A second area of research has focused on understanding cows’ natural behavior during labor and preferences for a calving environment. For example, cows provided free access to pasture and a barn sought areas with natural tree cover, or manufactured cover (barn) when giving birth. Similarly, when kept indoors, individually housed dairy cows sought a secluded area to give birth, especially if they calved during the day. Providing cows with the opportunity to seclude in group pens may be more complicated, especially when stocking density is high. For example, cows provided with a physical barrier in a group pen were more likely to calve next to the barrier, but this tended to occur only when stocking density was low. Future research should focus on: 1) developing a better understanding of how individual cows cope with transition housing practices, 2) using novel measurements of cow welfare during transition, including their affective state and ability to maintain sufficient sleep, and 3) determining the impacts of housing on cows during the short period after calving when cows are at the highest risk of disease.