The stimulation of oil and gas wells is an essential component of hydrocarbon production. One of the ways to perform well stimulation is to use gels. These gels have been used along with breakers to prevent the gels from blocking the pathway for reservoir hydrocarbons to flow into the newly stimulated wells. Viscoelastic surfactant (VES) gels have several advantages over polymer gels because they present a lesser risk of formation damage than polymer gels. However, there is no compilation of breaker classes used for VES gels. Given the importance of breakers and VES gels, the review compiles the types of breakers available for VES gels and describes the viscosity reduction mechanisms induced by the breakers. VES gel breakers can be classified into external and internal breakers. External breakers contact the VES gels in the reservoir, while internal breakers are injected into the reservoir along with the VES. External breakers include reservoir oil, mutual solvent, and microorganisms, such as bacteria. Internal breakers consist of proteins, acids, alcohols, polymers, modified nanoparticles, oxidizing agents, or a combination of these classes. Laboratory studies have shown that internal breakers are more efficient than external breakers. As to how viscosity reduction occurs, the breakers change the wormlike micelles in the gels. Wormlike micelles could be converted to microemulsions or shortened. In some cases, the molecular structure of VES is altered, leading to the destruction of the wormlike micelles. Nevertheless, some of the proposed mechanisms have not been confirmed because their delineation relied only on rheological data. Finally, there are reports on the successful use of both external and internal breakers in the field. To conclude, breakers have been used successfully with VES gels to improve hydrocarbon production. However, internal breakers may significantly improve hydrocarbon production when compared to external breakers.