Schmallenberg virus (SBV) emerged in Northern Europe during summer 2011 and then caused a large epidemic in Europe. It is a negative‐sense single‐stranded RNA virus belonging to the Bunyaviridae family and the Orthobunyavirus genus. SBV affects predominantly domestic and wild ruminants and is transmitted by multiple species of Culicoides biting midges. SBV infection is mainly asymptomatic in adult cattle, sheep and goats but can cause congenital malformations, stillbirths and premature births when infection of the dam occurs at a critical period of gestation. In response to the emergence of SBV, molecular and serological tests have been generated rapidly to diagnose and monitor the disease and a number of inactivated vaccines have been developed.