Although intravenous recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator therapy was approved for treating acute ischemic stroke within 3 h of symptom onset in 1996, less than 5% of patients with acute stroke were receiving this treatment. To facilitate adequate care for acute stroke patients, the Brain Attack Coalition (BAC) discussed the need to establish primary stroke centers (PSCs) where patients can receive emergency stroke care from qualifed teams and developed recommendations with criteria for PSCs in 2000. A consensus statement from the BAC with extensive recommendations for comprehensive stroke centers (CSCs), a facility for stroke patients who require high-intensity medical and surgical care, was published in 2005. The Joint Commission began to certify PSCs in 2003 and CSCs in 2012. The “Get With The Guidelines®-Stroke” program, a popular database tool to record and track performance measures, was developed by the American Heart Association as a national quality improvement program. A third type of facility, the acute stroke-ready hospital (ASRH), is currently under development. An ASRH would have fewer capabilities than a PSC, but would be able to provide initial diagnostic services, stabilization, emergent care, and therapies to patients with acute stroke. This chapter introduces literature about stroke centers from the United States, Europe, and Japan and discusses the effectiveness and future challenges of stroke centers.