The continuing spread of African swine fever (ASF) outside Africa in Europe, the Russian Federation, China and most recently to Mongolia and Vietnam, has heightened awareness of the threat posed by this devastating disease to the global pig industry and food security. In this review we summarise what we know about the African swine fever virus (ASFV), the disease it causes, how it spreads and the current global situation. We discuss current control methods in domestic and wild pigs and prospects for development of vaccines and other tools for control. •We describe the history of the spread of African swine fever virus in domestic and wild swine.•The mechanisms by which the virus spreads in different epidemiological scenarios.•The pathogenesis of different virus isolates.•Current methods used to control ASF and progress towards development of vaccines and other control strategies.•Future research priorities.