This chapter focuses on the importance of the ‘case’ within qualitative longitudinal research and the implications of a default focus on the individual as the ‘case’ in question. The chapter will consider the use of cases in qualitative longitudinal research in relation to (1) data generation (including sampling); (2) data organisation and analysis (including the case profile); and (3) cases and representation (including the archive, case history and case study). The chapter will be framed by a discussion of the wider literature on ‘the case’ as a trope that spans and connects disciplines and will conclude with some reflections of how thinking through cases allows us to think with time. The chapter will be illustrated with examples from the author’s own research spanning 20 years of experience in qualitative longitudinal research. Particular attention will be paid to examples that illustrate themes around rurality that are the focus of this collection.