Autoinflammation as a distinct disease category was first reported in 1999 as a group of monogenic disorders characterized by recurrent episodes of systemic and organ-specific inflammation, known as periodic fever syndromes. Since this original description, the focus has shifted considerably to the inclusion of complex multifactorial conditions with an autoinflammatory basis. Furthermore, the boundaries of what are considered to be autoinflammatory disorders are constantly evolving and currently encompass elements of immunodeficiency and autoimmunity. Notable developments in the intervening 20 years include substantial progress in understanding how the different inflammasomes are activated, how infection is sensed by the innate immune system and how intracellular signalling systems are consequently activated and integrated with many different cellular functions in the autoinflammatory process. With these developments, the field of autoinflammation is moving from a gene-centric view of innate immune-mediated disease towards a systems-based concept, which describes how various convergent pathways, including pyrin and the actin cytoskeleton, protein misfolding and cellular stress, NF-κB dysregulation and interferon activation, contribute to the autoinflammatory process. The development and adoption of a systems-based concept of systemic autoinflammatory diseases is anticipated to have implications for the development of treatments that target specific components of the innate immune system.