Abstract: Background Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) is a major sugar and bioenergy crop worldwide. In tropical and subtropical regions, the expansion of sugarcane cultivation on sloping farmland has intensified soil erosion, leading to topsoil loss, structural degradation, and fertility decline. A deeper understanding of erosion processes in sugarcane sloping farmland will enable the development of more effective soil and water conservation strategies for safeguarding land resources and sustaining the ecological environment in sugarcane-producing areas. Methods With the aid of Web of Science and CNKI, we collected over 60 classical papers based on the keywords of “Sugarcane sloping farmland” or “sloping field erosion” and conducted a literature review. The review focused on erosion environments and their ecological effects, the characteristics of erosion processes, the application of soil loss estimation models, key influencing factors, and erosion control practices. The study further compared the applicability of empirical and physically based models such as USLE, RUSLE, WEPP, and SWAT in sugarcane-growing regions, and evaluated their limitations in parameter calibration and spatial adaptability. Results 1) Hydraulic erosion dominates in sugarcane slope systems, manifesting primarily as splash, rill, and ephemeral gully erosion. 2) Erosion leads to the disintegration of soil aggregates and the loss of organic matter and nutrients, which accelerates farmland degradation and contributes to non-point source pollution and eutrophication. 3) Erosion intensity varies markedly across growth stages, being strongest during the seedling period. Owing to its well-developed root system and leaf residue cover, ratoon sugarcane exhibits significantly lower runoff and sediment yields than newly planted sugarcane. 4) Integrated ecological, agronomic, and engineering measures such as contour planting, residue mulching, and conservation tillage have been shown to effectively mitigate erosion and nutrient loss. 5) Existing erosion estimation models, characterized by an excessive number of parameters and factor value constraints, require further calibration and optimization to improve their applicability to sugarcane sloping farmland., requiring optimization for application to sugarcane sloping farmland. Conclusions Future research should focus on 1) elucidating slope-scale hydrodynamic mechanisms under variable rainfall and soil conditions; 2) assessing erosion responses to extreme weather and climate change; 3) quantifying the regulatory effects of conservation tillage and residue return on runoff generation; 4) improving the accuracy and adaptability of soil erosion models through multi-source monitoring and machine learning approaches; 5) developing an integrated research methodology combining in situ monitoring, indoor simulation, and numerical modeling to elucidate the mechanisms of soil and water processes in sugarcane terraced fields.