Abstract: Wheat is a phosphorus (P)-demanding cereal crop, and its stable and high yield relies heavily on substantial phosphorus fertilizer input. However, the seasonal utilization efficiency of phosphorus fertilizer in Chinese wheat production is only 19%, making the improvement of phosphorus absorption and use efficiency a critical scientific issue in wheat nutrient management research. Under low-P stress, wheat enhances P uptake and utilization primarily through root morphological remodeling, organic acid secretion, and internal P redistribution. These processes are regulated by changes in gene expression levels or transcriptional pathways involving signaling molecules. This review elaborates on the classification and functions of high-affinity phosphate transporter genes (TaPHT1s) in wheat, as well as the roles of transcription factors such as PHR1 and TaMYB4 in wheat P signaling pathways. Due to the cumbersome and coarse data acquisition process for P-efficient phenotypic indicators in wheat, progress in mapping and cloning P-efficient genes via forward genetics has been slow. Currently, reverse genetics approaches (transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, etc.) are increasingly adopted to identify candidate genes for P-use efficiency (PUE) in wheat, including PAPs, PHO1, PHT1s, and SPX families. Our research team identified a high-affinity phosphate transporter, TaPHT1;9, in wheat roots using iTRAQ proteomics and targeted protein quantification (PRM) techniques. Yeast mutant assays confirmed its P transport function. We generated experimental materials including TaPHT1;9-silenced wheat plants via BSMV-VIGS (Barley Stripe Mosaic Virus-induced Gene Silencing), gene-edited wheat mutants, and heterologous overexpression transgenic rice lines. Hydroponic and field trials revealed that this protein plays a crucial role in P uptake and translocation. Further analysis of allelic variations in the TaPHT1;9 gene sequence across wheat cultivars identified haplotypes harboring superior alleles associated with P efficiency. We developed molecular markers for screening P-efficient wheat cultivars and utilized these markers to select a cohort of P-efficient lines. Additionally, we uncovered P-efficient superior allelic variants in another high-affinity transporter gene, TaPHT1;6, and developed corresponding molecular markers. In recent years, crop molecular biology research has shifted from focusing on downstream functional genes at the end of molecular regulatory networks to intermediate regulatory factors (transcription factors, receptors, kinases, etc.). This shift is driven by the observation that most regulatory factors can simultaneously control the expression of multiple downstream functional genes, often yielding significantly greater effects on crop trait improvement than single functional genes alone. By using yeast one hybrid and other techniques, we isolated a transcription factor TaMYB4, which regulates the expression of four TaPHTs (TaPHT1;3-5B, TaPHT1;6-5B, TaPHT1;9-4B, and TaPHT1;10-4D). Finally, we propose future directions to accelerate the cloning of P-efficient genes in wheat, including: (1) developing high-throughput precise phenotyping platforms for P efficiency; (2) identifying key PHT genes involved in P remobilization from senescing post-anthesis organs to grains; and (3) leveraging wheat genome sequencing data and high-throughput microarrays.