Soybean (Glycine max L.) is a crucial global crop, serving as a significant source of protein and oil. However, its productivity is increasingly at risk due to climate change, particularly from drought stress. While conventional breeding has successfully identified and crossed drought-tolerant genotypes like DT2008 and slow-wilting lines, these efforts face challenges such as lengthy breeding cycles, strong environmental influences, and limited yield improvements. Molecular techniques, including genome-wide association studies, quantitative trait locus mapping, and marker-assisted selection, have enhanced the efficiency of identifying and selecting beneficial traits. Nevertheless, drought tolerance remains a complex polygenic trait. Biotechnology advancements introduce new possibilities; for instance, genetic modification has incorporated drought-responsive genes like AtDREB1A, codA, and GmNAC to improve survival, osmoprotection, and root development under water stress. Additionally, genome editing tools such as CRISPR/Cas9 allow for precise modifications of key loci and may enjoy greater public acceptance than traditional GM crops. Notable successes, such as the TN16-520R1 cultivar, which combines drought and herbicide tolerance, highlight the potential of integrating these technologies. Accurate evaluation methods are critical, with laboratory assays offering physiological insights, greenhouse experiments assessing gene function, and field trials confirming performance in real-world conditions. Future advancements in soybean breeding for drought tolerance will rely on integrating these complementary screening methods into high-throughput phenotyping pipelines to expedite the breeding process. In summary, improving soybean drought tolerance demands a synergistic approach that merges traditional diversity-based breeding with cutting-edge molecular techniques and genome editing. Key priorities include discovering functional genes, implementing precision phenotyping in field settings, and developing integrated breeding pipelines that simultaneously address drought and other stresses, such as heat and disease. This strategy aims to produce resilient cultivars capable of maintaining soybean productivity in the face of climate change.