One of the major advantages of stochastic global optimization methods is the lack of the need of the gradient of the objective function. However, in some cases, this gradient is readily available and can be used to improve the numerical performance of stochastic optimization methods specially the quality and precision of global optimal solution. In this study, we proposed a gradient‐based modification to the cuckoo search algorithm, which is a nature‐inspired swarm‐based stochastic global optimization method. We introduced the gradient‐based cuckoo search (GBCS) and evaluated its performance vis‐à‐vis the original algorithm in solving twenty‐four benchmark functions. The use of GBCS improved reliability and effectiveness of the algorithm in all but four of the tested benchmark problems. GBCS proved to be a strong candidate for solving difficult optimization problems, for which the gradient of the objective function is readily available.