Global climate change has great impacts on plant growth and development, reducing crop productivity worldwide. Rice (Oryza sativa L.), one of the world's most important food crops, is susceptible to high‐temperature stress from seedling stage to reproductive stage. In this review, we summarize recent advances in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying heat stress responses in rice, including heat sensing and signalling, transcriptional regulation, transcript processing, protein translation, and post‐translational regulation. We also highlight the irreversible effects of high temperature on reproduction and grain quality in rice. Finally, we discuss challenges and opportunities for future research on heat stress responses in rice. Brief summary In this review, we summarize recent advances in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying heat stress tolerance in rice (Oryza sativa L.), and discuss challenges and opportunities for future research on improving heat stress tolerance in rice.