Wire ropes are widely used in civil, mechanical and mining engineering. Safety of human life while using wire rope is always been a matter of great concern. Consequently, an efficient and safe performance of wire rope has always been an area of research. Fretting behaviour under repeated cyclic load in practical application is key player in performance of wire rope. Fretting behaviour is affected by a number of parameters viz. wire rope material, its tensile strength, lubrication and coating material and environmental factors like corrosive medium, operating temperature etc. There is a huge potential for further research in the area of fretting behaviour analysis. This paper presents a state-of-the-art review of key variables, their effect as well as remedial solution of fretting behaviour of wire rope.