Global agriculture is facing severe challenges, and breeding technology is the foundation and key to the development of the seed industry. Gene editing technology refers to the precise modification of target genes to achieve deletion, insertion, and replacement of specific target gene fragments. It can precisely modify target genes or introduce certain excellent genes into crops to produce crops with excellent agronomic traits, which has great potential in molecular design breeding and is of great significance to ensuring food security. Weed damage has a huge impact on the yield and quality of crops. To control weed damage efficiently, safely and sustainably has always been a hot research topic. Currently, more than 200 types of chemical herbicides have emerged in the global market. Using chemical methods to control weeds has become an important part of modern agriculture, and the cost of weed control has been significantly reduced by promoting herbicide-resistant crops. However, with the large-scale promotion of herbicide-resistant crops and the long-term use of single herbicides, environmental safety problems such as weed resistance and escape of resistant genes have gradually been discovered. Currently, the development of functional genomics, bioinformatics and genetic engineering technology (especially the widespread application of gene editing technology in plants) has created conditions for the creation of herbicide-resistant crops and new efficient weed control systems. In this article, the main target genes of herbicides that inhibit amino acid biosynthesis, lipid metabolism, carotenoid, plastoquinone and tocopherol biosynthesis pathways and their action mechanisms are introduced at first. Secondly, two methods for mining new herbicide resistance genes and herbicide systems are introduced, including the directed mutation method of herbicide resistance genes within crops based on CRISPR/Cas system and the resistance gene guidance method based on the co-evolution theory of natural product and organisms in nature. Moreover, the research progress of three breeding methods for herbicide resistant crops was reviewed, including conventional breeding, transgenic breeding and CRISPR/Cas genome editing based breeding. Among them, the research progress of CIRSPR/Cas system, base editing technology, and prime editing system in cultivating herbicide resistant crops were highlighted. The main challenge faced by chemical control of weeds and herbicide resistant crops is resistant weeds and environmental safety issues, and gene escape, respectively. At present, the rapid development of genome editing technology provides new solutions and new opportunities for the development of herbicide resistant crops in the post genome era. Finally, the prospects for the future of herbicide-resistant crops were provided.