Seed shattering is a major factor limiting rice production, and breeding new rice varieties with moderate seed shattering is a key challenge faced by rice breeders worldwide. Rice is the most important cereal crop in China, plays a vital role for national food security. Seed shattering is one of the most important traits during rice domestication, and the abscission zone is the important region to control seed shattering. Compared with wild rice, cultivar has eliminated the seed shattering with partially developed abscission layer. Seed shattering not only has a direct impact on the yield, but also affects the way of its mechanical harvest. In order to breed rice varieties with moderate seed shattering in agricultural production, it is necessary to mine and utilize important seed shattering genes and introduce them into excellent rice varieties for genetic improvement, so as to breed new rice varieties suitable for mechanical harvesting with moderate seed shattering. Several seed shattering genes had been identified by map-based cloning, such as SH4/SHA1, qSH1, OsSh1/ObSH3, and their functional mechanisms had been analyzed. At the same time, new rice materials with moderate seed shattering have been successfully developed through CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology, gamma ray mutagenesis technology and gene introduction methods. Seed shattering has an important effect on grain yield and rice harvesting methods, in this paper, we reviewed the methods, physiologic basis, the identification of seed shattering genes and genetic mechanism of seed shattering in rice. At the same time, it is proposed that by using the important genes in excellent rice germplasm resources, could provide reference for exploring the mechanism of rice seed shattering, and breed new rice varieties suitable for mechanical harvesting with moderate seed shattering.