Written and produced by Madonna and Stephen Bray, the song was inspired by her relationship with then-husband Sean Penn, and his abusive and violent nature.

Containing a dance-oriented, up-tempo groove, the song begins with the chorus and is accompanied by a four-note descending bassline and staccato chords in the verses.

Needing songs for the soundtrack of the movie, she contacted Patrick Leonard and Stephen Bray, with whom she had written and produced her third studio album True Blue (1986).

In a Rolling Stone article dated September 10, 1987, Madonna spoke about Penn's impact on her life, "I don't like violence.

Andrzej Ciuk, one of the editors of the book Exploring Space noted that the proverbial status of the phrase "opposites attract" as a defining key ingredient of cultural concept of "love" and this was evident also in the song with the lyrics: "You met your match when you met me, I know that you'll disagree it's crazy, But opposites attract you'll see, And I won't let you get away so easy".

Rikky Rooksby, author of The Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna, said that the song was "Perfectly acceptable, though not in the same class as 'Who's That Girl'.

She wrote: "I recall my stunned admiration as I sat in the theater in 1987 and first experienced the crashing, descending chords of Madonna's 'Causing a Commotion', which opened her dreadful movie Who's That Girl.

[10] Matthew Jacobs from HuffPost, placed it at number 46 of his list "The Definitive Ranking of Madonna Singles", calling it "cheerful, until you learn it was inspired by her abusive relationship with Sean Penn".

[12] Slant Magazine's Eric Henderson called it "somehow generic and diverting in equal measure, ['Causing a Commotion'] offers one of Madonna’s most undeniable come-on lines at the center of it all".

[14] Writing for Gay Star News, Joe Morgan deemed it an "absolute gem" that "unfortunately sinks in the background when it comes to Madonna’s 80s classics".

[18] The song quickly climbed up the chart, ultimately peaking at number two the week of October 24, 1987, blocked from the top position by Michael Jackson's "Bad" and Tiffany's "I Think We're Alone Now."

[29][30] Elsewhere, the song reached the top-ten in Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Switzerland, and the top 20 in Austria, Norway and Sweden.

Collaborating with Marlene Stewart on the clothes for the tour, Madonna expanded on the idea of bringing her video characters to life and to display a gangster theme for the song.

The outfit she wore for the performance was described by Carol Clerk, author of Madonnastyle, as the "perfect visual combination of masculine and feminine".

[40] On occasion during her Celebration Tour in 2023, Madonna sang lines from the refrain before introducing the concept of the show to the audience and launching into a guitar-driven performance of "Burning Up.