One of the main causes of atherosclerosis (AS) is dyslipidemia. Many treatments can reduce lipid risk factors in the development of AS, but significant risks still exist. In the past decades, inflammation as a potential common risk factor has attracted extensive attention, driving the occurrence and development of AS and providing more opportunities for the treatment of this disease. Drugs that modulate the various inflammatory pathways leading to AS are the subject of current research. This article summarizes the recent studies on anti-inflammatory therapy of AS, including extensive anti-inflammatory drugs, targeted specific anti-inflammatory drugs and the mechanism of anti-inflammatory therapy of traditional Chinese medicine, in order to provide reference for related research in this field.