Ribosomes stall indefinitely at the 3' end of the mRNAs that lack natural stop codon and also pause anywhere on normal mRNAs during starvation. This pausing traps a considerable population of ribosomes in an inactive state and leads to a deficiency of ribosomes for ongoing protein synthesis. Bac­teria possess a special RNA molecule called the tmRNA (a chimera of tRNA and mRNA), which in association with its binding partner SmpB protein, rescues the stalled ribosomes in a complex multistep process called $trans$-translation. This review aims to discuss the process of $trans$-translation and its involvement in regulating macromolecular processes in bac­teria.