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Abstract: Nuclear factor κB (NF‐κB) belongs to a family of heterodimeric transcription factors that play a key role in inflammatory and stress responses as well as in tumor cell resistance to apoptosis. These effects are due to the NF‐κB‐dependent transcription of many proinflammatory and antiapoptotic genes, whose products ensure various cell responses to environmental conditions. The signal transduction pathways leading to NF‐κB activation are well characterized, and the different steps implicated in these pathways involve proteins that could constitute targets for NF‐κB inhibition. Several inhibitors aiming to prevent NF‐κB activity and thus the transcription of target genes are studied, and a few compounds seem particularly promising. We try here to summarize the advantages that can issue from various studies on NF‐κB.