Abstract:Genic male sterile (GMS) and cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) have widely used in pepper breeding. GMS is controlled by nuclear genes, while CMS is regulated by both nuclear genes and cytoplasmic genes. The advanced studies on genetics and application of pepper male sterile in hybrid breeding, the construction of genetic linkage map, gene mapping, and the development of molecular markers were reviewed, which will benefit the further researches of genetic mechanism and gene cloning in pepper.