•Studies on the role of serotonergic system in motor control are summarized.•Effect of serotonin varies depending on the type of 5-HT receptor in the target.•Genetic tracing method revealed its connectivity with other brain regions.•Large-scale neural activity imaging revealed its internal sensorimotor computation.•The serotonergic system may modulate motor control independent of its other functions. The serotonergic system in the vertebrate brain is implicated in various behaviors and diseases. Its involvement in motor control has been studied for over half a century, but efforts to build a unified model of its functions have been hampered due to the complexity of serotonergic neuromodulation. This review summarizes the anatomical structure of the serotonergic system, its afferent and efferent connections to other brain regions, and recent insights into the sensorimotor computations in the serotonergic system, and considers future research directions into the roles of serotonergic system in motor control.