During the rice production process, rice (Oryza sativa) often faces various biotic stresses such as fungi, bacteria, viruses, and pests, which seriously threaten rice growth and yield. Improving the inherent resistance of rice is the most economical and effective way to resist pests and pathogens. MiRNAs are a class of endogenous non-coding small RNAs approximately 20-24 nucleotides in length,which negatively regulate gene expression by degrading target mRNAs or inhibiting translation. In recent years, significant progress has been achieved in the functional research of rice miRNAs in response to biotic stresses. Rice miRNAs participate in the pattern-triggered immunity (PTI) and effector-triggered immunity (ETI) signaling pathways through a variety of transcription factors, transporters, endogenous signaling molecules, signal receptors, oxidases, hydrolases, and kinases, etc., directly or indirectly regulating the tolerance of rice to biotic stresses. Several miRNAs, such as miR156, miR168, miR396, miR162a, miR1873, miR1871, and miR1432, play critical roles in balancing rice yield and resistance, offering important insights for breeding high-yielding and disease-resistant varieties. However, most current studies on rice miRNAs in responses to biotic stress focus on identifying and characterizing downstream target genes. Future efforts should intensify research on upstream regulatory elements and comprehensively dissect the signal transduction pathways mediated by miRNAs, specifically clarifying the functions of individual components and their interactive networks. This will lay a foundation for improving the efficiency of miRNA expression manipulation in rice varietal improvement. This paper mainly reviews the functions of rice miRNAs in response to biotic stresses such as rice blast, bacterial blight, stripe disease, viral diseases, and brown planthoppers. It also proposes scientific questions that need attention and further research in the future, aiming to provide strategies for rice molecular breeding.
