Stroke warning syndrome （SWS） is a special type of transient ischemic attack （TIA） and accounts for 1.5%-8.5% of all TIA cases. The clinical manifestations of SWS include repeated and stereotyped sensory and/or motor neurological deficits affecting the face， arm， and/or leg at one side， but without cortical symptoms. Depending on its location， it is classified into capsular warning syndrome， pontine warning syndrome， and callosal warning syndrome. Common risk factors for SWS include hypertension， diabetes， smoking， and hyperlipidemia. Current studies show that the possible pathogenesis of SWS include cerebral small vessel disease， atherosclerosis， artery-to-artery embolism， hemodynamic instability， and periinfarct depolarization. SWS has a high risk of progression to cerebral infarction， and there is still a lack of universally accepted effective treatment regimens. Intravenous thrombolysis （IVT） may improve the prognosis of SWS patients who attend the hospital within time window， and IVT is safe for the treatment of SWS， with no reports on hemorrhagic transformation caused by IVT. For the SWS patients who attend the hospital after the time window， timely administration of dual antiplatelet therapy may effectively terminate ischemic attacks. About 60%-100% of SWS cases progress to cerebral infarction. Although SWS is associated with a high risk of ischemic stroke， most patients with SWS have good neurological function recovery， with a relatively low recurrence rate. This article systematically reviews the epidemiology， clinical features， possible pathogenesis， treatment， and prognosis of SWS， so as to improve the awareness of this disease among clinicians and achieve better diagnosis and treatment of this disease.