Gluten is the main functional component of wheat, and is the main source of the viscoelastic properties in a dough. One of the gluten group is glutenin, which is composed of high molecular weight (HMW) and low molecular weight (LMW) subunits. The HMW glutenin subunits (HMW-GS) have been shown to play a crucial role in determining the processing properties of the grain. They are encoded by the Glu-1 loci located on the long arms of homeologous group one chromosomes, with each locus comprising two genes encoding x- and y-type subunits. The presence of certain HMW subunits is positively correlated with good bread-making quality. The highly conserved N- and C- terminal contaning cystein residues which form interand intra-chain disulphide bonds. This inter chain disulphide bonds stabilize the glutenin polymers. In contrast, the repetitive domains that comprise the central part of the HMW-GS are responsible for the elastic properties due to extensive arrays of interchain hydrogen bonds. In this review, we discuss HMW-GS, HMW-GS structure and gluten elasticity, relationship between HMW-GS and bread wheat quality and genetic engineering of the HMW-GS.