Due to its extraordinary qualities, including its tolerance to drought, short growing season, high propagation coefficient, and high oil content, sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is an economically significant crop. Sesame oil’s antioxidative, antihypertensive, anticancer, and tumor-suppressive qualities are due in part to the presence of phenylpropanoid substances like lignans, phytates, tocopherol, and phytosterols. However, the pace of genetic advancement through breeding initiatives has been uneven, posing difficulties for producers, processors, and consumers. Poor yields and breeding challenges in sesame are caused by a number of crop characteristics, including pod shattering, ambiguous flowering, insect/pest susceptibility, and illnesses. To enhance these qualities, both conventional and genetic engineering techniques have been used. The evaluation of high yield and improved oil quality features in existing commercial varieties has been done using pure-line and mass selection techniques. Selective breeding and hybridization have been used to combine desired features in a single plant. While traditional breeding methods have benefits, they are also constrained by factors including genetic compatibility, genetic diversity, labor intensity, and time requirements. In vitro culture, somatic hybridization, and mutational breeding are non-traditional methods with limited applications in sesame breeding programs. By improving selection effectiveness and permitting the characterization of desired features at earlier stages of crop development, marker-assisted selection has completely changed plant breeding. Sesame breeding should be advanced by combining biotechnological approaches with conventional breeding practices to create improved, high-yielding cultivars faster. Improved disease and pest resistance, abiotic stress tolerance, higher seed output, and oil quality should be prioritized in breeding projects.