BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVESRabies is a viral zoonotic disease which causes fatal encephalitis. Rabies is one of the most important public health concerns in many endemic countries like Iran which suffer a lot of economic losses, especially in public health system. Rabies cases are caused by dogs (۹۹%); Studies show that it is possible to eliminate or reduce dog rabies. This study reviewed the importance of rabies and rabies control strategies that have been implemented in different countries.MATERIALS AND METHODSA literature survey with the keywords: rabies, control, rabies elimination, and strategies were conducted in databases: Google Scholar, Pub Med, and Elsevier (۲۰۱۸-۲۰۲۲), and ۲۱ articles and WHO reports were selected. All these articles introduce examination methods, pathogenesis, and efficient rabies control strategies.RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONInvestigation of rabies control methods showed that rabies is endemic in countries with a lack of rabies pre and post-exposure prophylaxis centers and improper rabies control in free-roaming/stray dogs and wildlife, improper dog population management, lack of diagnosis, and labor. The important methods of rabies control, which have led to the elimination of dog-mediated rabies in Western European countries, Canada, USA, and Japan, are continuous coverage of animal vaccination (dog vaccination coverage of ۷۰%) and wildlife, inter-sectoral cooperation, dog population control, establishing rabies diagnosis centers, allocating funds, monitoring the rabies control program, increase public awareness and education, increasing health centers, and rapid reporting.CONCLUSIONConsidering the increase in animal bite cases in Iran in recent years and the fatality of rabies, studying the rabies and rabies control strategies are very important. We hope to eliminate rabies in the country by designing and developing national plans. Implementation of the global strategic plan to control rabies make it possible to progress in eliminating dog-mediated rabies.