Hallmarks of cystic fibrosis (CF) are increased viscosity of mucus and impaired mucociliary clearance within the airways due to mutations of the cystic fibrosis conductance regulator gene. This paves the way for the colonization by microbial pathogens and the concomitant establishment of chronic infections leading to lung tissue damage, reduced lung function, and to decreased life expectancy. Although microbial infections play a key role during disease progression, only a few studies investigated the pathophysiology of the microbial community in vivo so far. Moreover, no CF study so far applied metaproteomics, a powerful approach to unravel molecular mechanisms of microbial infection, mainly reasoned due to (I) the challenging processability of inhomogeneous, viscous, slimy sputum, and (II) the high number of human proteins masking comparably low abundant microbial proteins. Consequently, we developed a reliable, reproducible and widely applicable protocol for sputum processing, microbial enrichment, and subsequent metaproteomics analyses with a focus on microbial pathogens overcoming the aforementioned challenges. Metaproteomics data were complemented and validated by 16S sequencing, metabolomic as well as microscopic analyses. In total, we processed 21 CF sputum samples and selected three for detailed metaproteome analysis. The number of bacterial proteins/protein groups increased from 199-425 to 392-868. Moreover, our data suggest that the arginine deiminase pathway and multiple proteases and peptidases identified from various bacterial genera are so far underappreciated in their contribution to the CF pathophysiology. By providing a standardized and effective protocol for sputum processing and microbial enrichment, our study represents an important basis for future studies investigating the physiology of microbial pathogens in CF in vivo – an important prerequisite for the development of novel antimicrobial therapies against mucoviscidosis.