Abstract  Locust plagues continue to pose a major threat to global agriculture, the economy and the environment. These plagues arise when locusts change from the solitary to the gregarious phase. An aggregation pheromone is considered to play a critical role in this transition and has been the subject of research for over 50 years. This paper briefly describes the characteristics of the locust aggregation pheromone and reviews recent progress in research, including recent breakthroughs in compound identification, electrophysiological recording and behavioral assays. The shortcomings and limitations of past research, and requirements for the identification and verification of the aggregation pheromone in current research, are also discussed. Finally, prospects for future research and the application of the locust aggregation pheromone to locust prevention are outlined.