Spider mites are globally important agricultural pests, and being a typical r-strategy species, are extremely difficult to control. Due to their small body size and weak dispersal ability, spider mites show weak host preferences and high adaptability to different host plants. Feeding efficiently while suppressing plant defenses is critical for spider mite survival. Spider mites mainly obtain nutrients by sucking mesophyll cells on the surface of plants with a tiny stylet, and digest the ingested materials through detached giant digestive cells in their gut; a unique strategy of feeding and interaction with host plants. This review summarizes three aspects of the spider-mite vs host-plant interaction; the population dynamics of spider mites feeding on different hosts, detoxification mechanisms and saliva effector protein. Hopefully this review will facilitate further research on the interaction between spider mites and host plants.