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The global pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), named coronavirus disease 2019, has infected more than 8.9 million people worldwide. This calls for urgent effective therapeutic measures. RNA‐dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) activity in viral transcription and replication has been recognized as an attractive target to design novel antiviral strategies. Although SARS‐CoV‐2 shares less genetic similarity with SARS‐CoV (~79%) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (~50%), the respective RdRps of the three coronaviruses are highly conserved, suggesting that RdRp is a good broad‐spectrum antiviral target for coronaviruses. In this review, we discuss the antiviral potential of RdRp inhibitors (mainly nucleoside analogs) with an aim to provide a comprehensive account of drug discovery on SARS‐CoV‐2. Highlights: RNA‐dependent RNA polymerase plays the vital role in SARS‐CoV‐2 viral replication.The relationship between structure and funcational of RNA polymerase.Evaluation and development of potential SARS‐CoV‐2 RdRp inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]