We aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of early epileptic seizures after stroke. All consecutive patients with a first-ever stroke were prospectively identified within the population of Dijon, France, thanks to a population-based registry, from 1985 to 2010. Early epileptic seizures were defined as seizures occurring within 14 days after stroke onset. Outcomes were 1-month and 1-year mortality, and severe functional handicap at discharge. Of the 4,411 stroke patients included, data about seizures were available in 4,358 (98.8, 53.5 % women, mean age, 74.1 ± 14.8 years). Among these patients, 134 (3.1 %) had early seizures. Stroke patients with early seizures differed from those without seizures, as there was a higher proportion of hemorrhagic stroke, higher blood glucose level at admission, smoking status, and more frequent impaired. Higher risks of 1-month and 1-year mortality in patients with early seizures (unadjusted HR 1.45, 95 % CI 1.00-2.10; HR = 1.59, 95 % CI 1.21-2.09, respectively) disappeared (HR 0.71, 95 % CI 0.49-1.08 and HR 0.85, 95 % CI 0.64-1.17) after adjustment for stroke severity and other confounding factors. Early seizures were associated with severe handicap in unadjusted analyses (OR 2.07, 95 % CI 1.46-2.95) but the association was no longer significant after multivariable adjustment (OR 1.12, 95 % CI 0.69-1.83). Early epileptic seizures were not associated with higher risks of mortality at 1 month and 1 year or with unfavorable functional outcome after acute stroke. The adverse effects of epileptic seizures may not be distinguishable from stroke severity, which is strongly related to epileptic seizures.