In this work the dynamics of density fluctuations in liquid HCl is investigated by computer simulation experiments, with the main goal of ascertaining the influence of hydrogen bonding in the features of the collective excitations of this molecular fluid. The data analysis shows that in HCl the hydrogen bonding has quite a small relevance on the dynamics, in strong contrast with the findings reported for both HF and water. Within the framework of generalized hydrodynamics we have been able to derive values for otherwise unknown quantities like the ratio of specific heats and the adiabatic sound velocity. An evaluation of the average effective interaction potential between the molecular centers of mass, clarifies the interpretation of the collective dynamical behavior explored in the present investigation. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.