Technical Abstract: Potato is a host to many pathogens that affect all parts of the plant and cause several reductions in the quantity and quality of the yield. The development of new cultivars that are more resistant to economically important pests and diseases is therefore one of the top priorities for the potato breeding programs worldwide. Numerous resistance genes were discovered in Solanum species and introgressed into the cultivated potato. The recent introduction of molecular marker techniques facilitated gene mapping and shifted orientation from the phenotype-based resistance genetics to the genotype-based based approaches. A number of loci conferring quantitative resistance (QRLs) and around forty single dominant genes (R-genes) conferring qualitative resistance were positioned on the potato molecular map. To date, eight of the mapped R-genes were isolated and molecularly characterized. The analysis of mapped and cloned resistance genes shows that they often occur in clusters and that some of them can respond to more than one elicitor. Ongoing research on resistance gene evolution will help us in understanding a dynamic interaction between potato and pathogens, and opens a way for development of more resistant cultivars.