Phytophagous mites (Acari) are agricultural pests that cause productivity and economic losses. Mite infestation is stressful for plants, hindering the development and harming photosynthetic structures and storage organs. In order to combat such damage, plants utilize molecular and physiological modifications, as well as the production of mite-inhibitory compounds. In this review, we focus on the main phytophagous mites that infest the most commercially important cereals -rice (Oryza sativa L.), corn (Zea mays L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) -summarizing the responses of the plants -physiological and molecular alterations -to mite infestation.