Abstract Introduction Systemic inflammation has been proven to play a crucial role in promoting cancer progression and metastasis in many cancer types, including colorectal cancer (CRC). The aim of the present review is to provide an overview of the studies regarding the prognostic value of inflammation-based markers in patients with CRC. Methods A literature search was made for articles reporting the prognostic value of Glasgow prognostic score (GPS) and modified GPS (mGPS), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), lymphocyte-monocyte ratio (LMR) in relation to colorectal cancer outcomes. Discussion In resectable early stage CRC, high GPS scores seems significantly associated with cancer-specific survival (CSS); it has also been suggested that adjuvant chemotherapy in stage II CRC could improve CSS in patients with high GPS scores. In patients both with resectable and unresectable mCRC and higher GPS score, all studies suggest a poorer overall survival. In early stage and resectable mCRC, NLR value seems related to OS, whilst data about DFS are discordant. In metastatic disease, a possible correlation between higher NLR and poorer response to bevacizumab has been suggested. Data concerning the prognostic and predictive role of PLR and LMR in CRC are to date insufficient. Conclusions In patients with unresectable metastatic disease, inflammation markers can be used as a marker for predicting chemotherapeutic outcome and monitoring tumor progression, whereas further prospective studies may lead to a better risk stratification in patients eligible for curative surgery restricting the administration of neo-adjuvant and adjuvant therapy to high risk candidates.