The song was written by Max Martin, who produced it with Kristian Lundin, and lyrically describes the reciprocity of a relationship.

An accompanying music video was directed by British director Nigel Dick and depicts the Backstreet Boys performing an audition for six women.

"[6] Chuck Arnold from People Magazine viewed it as their "sumptuous signature song", noting that it "is about leaving your life in the hands of that special someone — on just the one condition that they love you back.

[8] The accompanying music video for "As Long as You Love Me" was directed by British director Nigel Dick and filmed on June 15, 1997, in Pasadena, California.

The women named Donna, Jana, Linda, Fatima, Gina, and Nina videotape the performances and take notes.

The Netherlands retro rock band The Kik recorded a live version in Dutch ("Als jij maar van mij houdt") in the 3FM studio, using only CASIO keyboards.

[10] In 2019, the duo La Folie and singer Jordi Ninus recorded a version in Catalan of this song, under the title "Si em dius que m’estimes" ("If you say you love me"), for the CD edited by La Marató de TV3, a telethon devoted to raising funds for the research of incurable diseases.