Introduction The World Health Organization has recommended two pre-erythrocytic malaria vaccines targeting Plasmodium falciparum. However, there is currently no vaccine available for Plasmodium vivax, the second leading cause of malaria. To eliminate malaria, transmission-blocking vaccines (TBVs) that can prevent infection of mosquitoes from humans would be helpful.Areas covered This review summarizes the identification of targets, progress, and prospects in developing malaria TBVs. We searched PubMed for studies published up to 11 April 2025, using the terms [‘Pfs25’ OR ‘Pfs230’ OR ‘Pfs48/45’ OR ‘Pvs25’ OR ‘Pvs230’ OR ‘Pvs48/45’ OR ‘AnAPN1’] AND [‘malaria transmission-blocking vaccine’].Expert opinion After over 30 years of research and development, Pfs230 for P. falciparum and Pvs25 for P. vivax are the most advanced candidates for transmission-blocking vaccines.