Purpose To investigate whether genetic variants in inflammation-related genes are associated with increased risk of childhood-onset febrile seizures. Method Tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 19 inflammation-related candidate genes were identified and genotyped on the Sequenom platform in a sample of Caucasian childhood-onset febrile seizures cases (n = 98) compared to ethnicity, age and gender matched febrile controls presenting without seizures (n = 123). Tests for allelic association were carried out using PLINK. SNPs generating empirical P-values (P <0.05) were analysed in an expanded Caucasian control sample (n = 2692) from the 1958 Birth Cohort. Results Six SNPs generated empirical pointwise significance values P <0.05 in the febrile seizures case-control analysis in the P2X7R (purinergic receptor P2X7), TLR4 (toll-like receptor 4), IL6R (interleukin 6 receptor) and PTGER3 (prostaglandin E receptor 3, subtype EP3) genes. The most significant result was for missense SNP rs208294 in P2X7R (P = 0.009); this novel association was supported in the expanded case-control analysis using the 1958 Birth Cohort (pointwise P = 0.009, OR = 0.63, familywise P = 0.039). Conclusion Genetic variants in inflammation-related genes, specifically purinergic receptor P2X7, may be involved in susceptibility to childhood-onset febrile seizures.