Post-stroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) is one of the common complications after stroke, which has a significant impact on the quality of life of stroke patients. However, the pathogenesis has not been fully explained. More and more evidence shows that the mechanism of programmed cell death (PCD) is related to PSCI, including apoptosis, necrotic apoptosis, pyroptosis, generalized apoptosis, PARP-1 dependent cell death and iron death. Therefore, it is crucial to have a clear understanding of various mechanisms of PCD and their relationship with PSCI, and to elucidate the role of PCD in the pathogenesis of diseases. The article reviews six PCD pathways related to PSCI, summarizes their mechanisms of action in PSCI, and elucidates the possible crosstalk between different pathways, in order to provide data basis for clinical targeting of regulatory factors in the PCD pathway for the treatment of PSCI.