Inflammation is considered as one of the major causes for the initiation of various chronic diseases such as asthma, cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, osteoporosis and neurological diseases like Parkinson's disease. Increasing scientific evidence has delineated that inflammatory markers such as TNF‐α, IL‐1, IL‐6, IL‐8 and CRP and different transcription factors such as NF‐κB and STAT are the major key factors that regulate these inflammatory diseases. Food protein‐derived bioactive peptides have been shown to exhibit anti‐inflammatory activity by inhibiting or reducing the expression of these inflammatory biomarkers and/or by modulating the activity of these transcription factors. This review aims to discuss various molecular targets and underlying mechanisms of food protein‐derived anti‐inflammatory peptides and to explore their potential against various chronic inflammatory diseases. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry