The concept of the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) was evolved to cater to the increasing demands of emerging and advanced vehicular applications such as intelligent transportation systems (ITS). IoV plays a vital role in the development of smart cities and smart transportation. As IoV involves real-time data, so efficient routing mechanisms, as well as secure protocols, are very much needed to enhance the efficiency and security of the IoV network. In the existing literature, numerous researchers have focused on enhancing the efficiency of the IoV network. However, there still exist some flaws keeping in view the new security vulnerabilities that keep on emerging. So, there is a need to optimize the capabilities of existing frameworks for dealing with such issues.Nature-inspired algorithms are a category of powerful tools to solve problems of optimization. In this first of its kind state-of-the-art study, the potential of applicability of nature-inspired algorithms in IoV networks for improving the overall performance of IoV is explored. First, various categories of natureinspired algorithms are presented to make the readers well acquainted with the concepts of nature-inspired algorithms. Different nature-inspired algorithms having their applicability in different aspects of IoV are studied with a special focus on security, routing, and parking space management for strengthening the existing IoV network. Various open issues and research challenges in the use of different nature-inspired algorithms in IoV are also presented. Based upon the study conducted, it has been analyzed that natureinspired algorithms can optimize the overall performance of IoV networks.