Arterial spin labeling (ASL) is a magnetic resonance perfusion imaging method for visualizing whole-brain perfusion by using autologous arterial blood as an endogenous tracer. Recently, it has been widely used in studies about ischemic stroke, especially in evaluating ischemic penumbra and cerebral collateral circulation, and is found to have good consistency with golden standard digital subtraction angiography (DSA). Due to its noninvasive and reproducible advantages, ASL is an ideal technique for assessing collateral circulation in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and has a good application prospect. We briefly review the progress of ASL in evaluating collateral circulation of AIS patients, to provide some references for the effective development of collateral circulation assessment in clinic.