The referendum asked voters whether or not they approve a change to the family's definition as provided by Article 48 of the Constitution, to prohibit same-sex marriage.

The Romanian Constitution defines the family as being founded on the free-willed marriage "between spouses" (which could also be translated as "between husbands" since in Romanian the same word is used to mean both husband and spouse of indefinite gender), but the initiative's promoters sought to amend this term with an explicit reference to marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

[15][16] Liviu Dragnea, President of the Chamber of Deputies, announced that the referendum could be organized on 30 September or the first Sunday in October.

[19] On 14 September, Amnesty International, the European Commission on Sexual Orientation Law and ILGA-Europe filed a challenge with the Constitutional Court against the amendment.

[24] The amendment was supported by many politicians and religious groups, but opposed by President Klaus Iohannis and the opposition Save Romania Union.

[8] Many human rights activists called for a boycott, so as to maximise the chance of the referendum not meeting the minimum 30% turnout rate required in order for the vote to be valid.

[52] The opposition Save Romania Union (USR) also held an internal vote on the issue and decided to oppose the referendum.

[38] The Romania Together Movement, led by former Prime Minister Dacian Cioloș, advised its supporters not to participate in the referendum, arguing it would limit rights and freedoms.

She further alludes to the referendum in the line: "În dulcele stil clasic și deloc tradițional/Noi n-o ardem în plastic, noi facem totul natural" ("In the sweet classic style and not at all traditional/We don't live in plastic, we do everything naturally").