We herein report the facile synthesis of a series of 3,5-substituted-1,2,4-oxadiazole derivatives 9a–e and 10a–e in good to excellent yields by employing NMI-MsCl mediated amide bond formation reaction. The anti-inflammatory potential of the newly synthesized compounds were evaluated by anti-denaturation assay using diclofenac sodium as the reference drug. The compounds 9a and 9d demonstrated promising activity profile when compared to the reference standard. The SAR and molecular docking studies were also carried out for obtaining more details about the profound activity profile of the synthesized molecules. The synthesized compounds were docked against two target proteins TGF-β and IL-1 by AutoDock vina and Auto Dock 4.2. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.