After an acute ischemic stroke (AIS), inflammatory processes are able to concomitantly induce both beneficial and detrimental effects. In this narrative review, we updated evidence on the inflammatory pathways and mediators that are investigated as promising therapeutic targets. We searched for papers on PubMed and MEDLINE up to August 2016. The terms searched alone or in combination were: ischemic stroke, inflammation, oxidative stress, ischemia reperfusion, innate immunity, adaptive immunity, autoimmunity. Inflammation in AIS is characterized by a storm of cytokines, chemokines, and Damage-Associated Molecular Patterns (DAMPs) released by several cells contributing to exacerbate the tissue injury both in the acute and reparative phases. Interestingly, many biomarkers have been studied, but none of these reflected the complexity of systemic immune response. Reperfusion therapies showed a good efficacy in the recovery after an AIS. New therapies appear promising both in pre-clinical and clinical studies, but still need more detailed studies to be translated in the ordinary clinical practice. In spite of clinical progresses, no beneficial long-term interventions targeting inflammation are currently available. Our knowledge about cells, biomarkers, and inflammatory markers is growing and is hoped to better evaluate the impact of new treatments, such as monoclonal antibodies and cell-based therapies.