Plant lesion mimic mutants (lmms) generally possess autoimmunity and hypersensitive response (HR)-like cell death in the absence of biotic or abiotic stress. They have attracted much attention because they are useful tools for deciphering the interaction between defense signaling and growth. Recent studies have identified more than 30 lmms involved in the plant immune response and cell death in rice. Genes underlying these lmms, coding for diverse types of proteins, mainly regulate transcription, protein translation and modification, vesicular trafficking and catalyzation of metabolism. Here, we presented an overview of the most recent advances on the study of lmms in rice and proposed a perspective on potential utilization of LMM genes in agriculture.