Trauma damage control has undergone a recent paradigm shift, broadening its focus from surgery to resuscitation. This review details central components of damage control resuscitation (DCR) across the phases of major injury care and the evidence behind its adoption. Permissive hypotension, minimization of crystalloid fluids, and early balanced blood product resuscitation have each been associated with improved outcomes in hemorrhaging patients. These tactics compliment current strategies of achieving hemorrhage control, including damage control surgery. DCR is now integrated into care from the injury scene, through the resuscitation bay, the operating room, and into the intensive care unit. Its use limits the physiologic derangement experienced by the injured patient and minimizes preventable death from hemorrhage. It has become the accepted standard of modern trauma care and is shaping contemporary trauma systems and education. Future evidence-based advancements in trauma care will be scrutinized against this standard.