Stripe rust is best controlled by utilizing genetic resistance. Resistance to stripe rust has been studied for more than a century, but most progresses have been made during the last three decades. Two major types of resistance, all-stage resistance (ASR) and adult-plant resistance (APR) or high-temperature adult-plant (HTAP) resistance, have been characterized and used in breeding for resistant cultivars in both wheat and barley. So far, 78 permanently named, 67 temporarily designated and 327 quantitative trait loci (QTL) have been reported in various wheat varieties. The majority of these genes and QTL have been located to wheat chromosomes. Although some of the genes or QTL are the same, these numbers indicate that there are abundant resistance genes in wheat germplasm, which can be used for improving stripe rust resistance in commercially grown cultivars. Although the number is smaller, more than 50 resistance loci have been reported in barley for resistance to stripe rust, and about 30 loci have been mapped to barley chromosomes. Based on the characteristics of different types of resistance and the rich sources of resistance genes and molecular markers, we discuss different strategies for developing resistant cultivars and propose to use the combination of genes for durable APR or HTAP resistance and effective ASR to achieve more effective and sustainable control of stripe rust.