Miscanthus is one of the top nine potential perennial energy crops. Its high production of biomass is largely due to its efficient C4 photosynthesis pathway and rhizome function, even in cool climates. As a relatively new industrial plant in Europe, it needs the support of both breeding programmes and biotechnology techniques. The paper aimed at synthetic resumption of genetic studies of the energy crop Miscanthus. Phylogenetics, genetic diversity, confirmation of hybridisation origin, genetic structure of natural populations, mapping, transferability of markers, molecular diagnostic and sequencing in genus Miscanthus were reviewed. Perspectives for the application to Miscanthus breeding of such molecular techniques as: hybrid creation with marker-aided selection, genome sequencing and synteny were also discussed. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.