Winter survival of cereals and grasses depends mainly on plant resistance to low temperature and to snow mould fungi. To persist winter plants have to be tolerant to different kind of stresses: abiotic such as low temperature, long-term snow and ice cover, freeze-induced plant desiccation or frequent freezing and thawing, and biotic - many species of snow mould fungi. During the cold acclimation, cereals and grasses become more resistant to both stresses: cold and snow mould. Earlier seeded plants with a greater number of crowns are more resistant to snow mould. Infection caused by snow mould induces a complex plant response, including such processes as the synthesis of PR (pathogenesis-related) proteins (chitinase and β-1,3-glucanas), production of active oxygen species (AOS), synthesis of phenolics, phyotalexins, accumulation of callosis and soluble carbohydrates, and a decrease of water potential. In the paper the most common defence mechanisms against snow mould pathogens are discussed.