Fructan is a type of water-soluble carbohydrate and osmoregulatory substance that can improve plant tolerance to stress. Metabolic genes of fructan in plants has been a focus, mainly for gene cloning, expression profiles and transgenetic engineering. These processes have greatly promoted our understanding about the regulatory mechanism of fructan in plants. In this review, we discuss fructan distribution modes, types, the metabolic pathway, relevant genes cloning and expression patterns. Especially, we emphasize progress in the molecular biology of fructan pathway and their roles in plant tolerance to various abiotic stresses.