To study the structural characteristics and anti-inflammatory activity of polysaccharides in peony seed meal (PSM). In this study, peony seed meal polysaccharides (PSMP) were extracted from PSM using the water extraction and alcohol precipitation method. The neutral polysaccharide PSMP1, acidic polysaccharide PSMP2 and PSMP3 were isolated from PSM by cellulose DEAE-52 column chromatography. The composition and structural characteristics of PSMP were analyzed by high performance gel permeation chromatography, ion chromatography and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The anti-inflammatory activity of PSMP was evaluated by measuring the release of nitrogen monoxide (NO) and the expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and IL-1β mRNA in mouse mononuclear macrophage leukemia cell RAW 264.7 inflammation model. The results showed that PSMP1 and PSMP2 were mixed polysaccharides composed of two polysaccharides with different molecular weights, and PSMP3 was a homogeneous polysaccharide. PSMP1 was composed of galactose, glucose and xylose with a molar ratio of 29.06∶25.37∶53.43. PSMP2 and PSMP3 were composed of galactose, glucose, xylose and arabinose with a molar ratio of 2.95∶4.25∶42.91∶29.89 and 5.95∶25.88∶40.84∶27.33, respectively. The results of infrared spectroscopy showed that the three polysaccharide components had typical plant polysaccharide characteristic peaks. The three kinds of peony seed meal polysaccharides have certain anti-inflammatory effects, and there is a dose-effect relationship, among which the neutral polysaccharide PSMP1 has the best anti-inflammatory activity. This study can provide a theoretical basis for the full utilization and functional development of peony seed meal resources.