Water cure is a form of torture. In one variation, of which the subject is tied or held down in a chair and with his face covered with a cloth, water is poured over his face. The subject feels like he is drowning and this is done to encourage the subject to talk. Another variation is to pour water down the throat of the subject being careful not to drown the subject but to make the subject feel the sensation of drowning.

Water cure was among the forms of torture used by American soldiers on Filipinos during the Philippine-American War.

In June 2004, it was revealed that torture with water was being used on prisoners at Camp X-ray in Guantanamo Bay. There is evidence that water boarding was recently used in Abu Ghraib.