Acute lung injury (ALI)/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a life‑threatening pulmonary disease. The main symptoms include dyspnea and hypoxemia. The role of programmed cell death in the pathogenesis of ALI/ARDS is becoming a hot topic. Programmed cell death is the death of cell suicide programs mediated by an intracellular program. Besides apoptosis and pyroptosis, the types of programmed cell death, such as ferroptosis, necroptosis, and NETosis, have also been gradually found in recent years. This study introduces the research advances of programmed cell death, such as ferroptosis, necroptosis, and NETosis in ALI/ARDS. It summarizes the regulatory mechanisms of different types of programmed cell death in other ALI models, hoping to provide more theoretical foundations for targeted therapy of ALI/ARDS.