This paper presents the advances in the synthesis of dragmacidin E. Since its isolation from a southern Australian deep-water marine sponge by Capon et al. in 1998, the Funk, Feldman, Jia, and Nemoto groups have conducted synthetic studies on this bis-indole alkaloid. An overview of the synthetic studies reported thus far, including the total synthesis of (& PLUSMN;)-dragmacidin E achieved by Feldman et al. in 2011, is presented.& COPY; 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.