Sugarcane smut caused by the fungus Sporisorium scitamineum is one of the major diseases of sugarcane worldwide, causing significant losses in productivity and profitability of this perennial crop. Teliospores of this fungus are air-borne, can travel long distances and remain viable in hot and dry conditions for more than six months. The disease is easily recognised by its long ‘whip’-like sorus produced on the apex or side shoots of sugarcane stalks. Each sorus can release up to 100 million teliospores in a day; the spores are relatively small (≤7.5 µ), light and can survive in harsh environmental conditions. The air-borne teliospores are the primary mode of smut spread around the world and across cane-growing regions. The most effective method of managing this disease is via resistant varieties. Due to the complex genomic makeup of sugarcane, selection for resistant traits is difficult in sugarcane breeding programs. In recent times, the application of molecular markers as a rapid tool of discarding susceptible genotypes early in the selection program has been investigated. Large effect resistance loci have been identified and have the potential to be utilised for marker-assisted selection to increase the frequency of resistant breeding lines in breeding programs. Recent developments in “omics” technologies (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) have contributed to our understanding and provided insights into the mechanism of resistance and susceptibility. This knowledge will further our understanding of smut and its interactions with sugarcane genotypes, and aid in the development of durable resistant varieties.