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The WRKY transcription factors family, which participates in many physiological processes in plants, constitutes one of the largest transcription factor families. The Asterales and the Apiales are two orders of flowering plants in the superorder Asteranae. Among the members of the Asterales, globe artichoke (<i>Cynara cardunculus</i> var. <i>scolymus</i> L.), sunflower (<i>Helianthus annuus</i> L.), and lettuce (<i>Lactuca sativa</i> L.) are important economic crops worldwide. Within the Apiales, ginseng (<i>Panax ginseng</i> C. A. Meyer) and <i>Panax notoginseng</i> (Burk.) F.H. Chen are important medicinal plants, while carrot (<i>Daucus carota</i> subsp. <i>carota</i> L.) has significant economic value. Research involving genome-wide identification of WRKY transcription factors in the Asterales and the Apiales has been limited. In this study, 490 <i>WRKY</i> genes, 244 from three species of the Apiales and 246 from three species of the Asterales, were identified and categorized into three groups. Within each group, WRKY motif characteristics and gene structures were similar. <i>WRKY</i> gene promoter sequences contained light responsive elements, core regulatory elements, and 12 abiotic stress <i>cis</i>-acting elements. <i>WRKY</i> genes were evenly distributed on each chromosome. Evidence of segmental and tandem duplication events was found in all six species in the Asterales and the Apiales, with segmental duplication inferred to play a major role in <i>WRKY</i> gene evolution. Among the six species, we uncovered 54 syntenic gene pairs between globe artichoke and lettuce. The six species are thus relatively closely related, consistent with their traditional taxonomic placement in the Asterales. This study, based on traditional species classifications, was the first to identify WRKY transcription factors in six species from the Asteranae. Our results lay a foundation for further understanding of the role of WRKY transcription factors in species evolution and functional differentiation.