Systemic acquired resistance (SAR) is a crucial defense mechanism in plants, which can significantly enhance the plant's resistance to pathogenic microorganisms. SAR has systemic, persistent, and broad-spectrum characteristics, whose transcriptional regulation plays a central role in the process. Here, the research progress on transcriptional regulation of SAR from the synthesis of SA, Pip/NHP, transcriptional regulation of NPR1, NPR3/NPR4 receptors and Pip/NHP mobile signals, as well as TGA, WRKY transcription factor family regulation was reviewed, providing a reference for a deeper understanding of plant immune regulatory networks, and systematic exploration of the mechanisms by which plants balanced growth and defense in complex environments.