Post-stroke cognitive impairment （PSCI） refers to a series of syndromes from mild cognitive impairment to dementia caused by stroke. The mitogen-activated protein kinases （MAPK）signaling pathway is a key pathway for transmitting cellular signals in mammals ，and p 38 is a classic branch of it. p 38 MAPK signaling pathway is involved in various pathophysiological processes such as cell growth ，differentiation，apoptosis and inflammatory response in central nervous system diseases. At present ，great progress has been made in clinical and basic experimental studies on prevention and treatment of PSCI by traditional Chinese medicine （TCM），but there is a lack of relevant systematic summary. Therefore ，this article summarizes the role of p 38 MAPK signaling pathway in PSCI and the pharmacological research progress of TCM in prevention and treatment of PSCI through p 38 MAPK signaling pathway.