Purpose of review Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) is a potent proinflammatory cytokine, which is involved in many inflammatory conditions including autoinflammatory and allergic disorders. This review provides insights into recent advances of our understanding of the pathogenesis of IL-1 beta-associated allergy-related disorders. Recent findings In autoinflammatory as well as allergic diseases such as contact hypersensitivity, atopic dermatitis and bronchial asthma, dysfunctional inflammasome processing has been demonstrated to account for IL-1 beta-induced inflammation. IL-1-neutralizing drugs have been shown to completely suppress or markedly reduce inflammatory responses in clinical studies and experimental models of urticarial autoinflammatory diseases as well as common allergic disorders. Summary The recent findings support a crucial role for IL-1 beta and inflammasome components in a variety of allergy-related disorders.