Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) stands as a multipurpose and sustainable biobased crop, holding the potential to secure the supply of specialized non-food commodities like bio-composites and cannabinoids. Hemp natural fibers are considered a promising alternative to unrenewable and unsustainable resources, such as mineral or petroleum-derived plastics. However, the lack of intensive hemp breeding in the latter decades of the twentieth century, due to the prohibition of its cultivation, contributed to a big gap in molecular knowledge of this crop and most breeding programs continue using traditional methods. Conventional breeding has created commonly used varieties that still exhibit considerable heterogeneity. The renewed interest in this crop is fostering research in many different fields from agronomy to genetics and the development of new techniques to create new varieties with better qualities such as fiber and cannabinoid yields and composition. To cope with foreseen natural fiber demands along with other important hemp by-products, the development of modern hemp breeding programs is expected to adopt advances in molecular marker-assisted selection, genomics, mutagenesis and tissue culture. In the future genetic engineering and gene editing approaches are also expected to be implemented in breeding programs as it is in many staple crops, vegetables, legumes and fruit crops. Finally, it will be crucial to plan breeding programs based on specific end-uses of the plants and the environment, particularly photoperiod, as it is fundamental to provide cultivars that respond well to specific cultivation sites. The objective of this chapter on cannabis breeding is to provide a brief history of the crop and outline the major agronomic requirements for production. Both traditional and modern breeding methods and technologies are discussed, oriented towards producing new varieties suited for increasingly challenging environmental conditions amidst a changing global climate. Chapter content focuses on methods for the improvement of key traits to develop cannabis varieties for increased production of natural pharmaceuticals and innovative industrial uses to improve human health and well-being.