Fault rupture, producing both transient vibrations and permanent displacements, can severely damage structures within the fault zone. While seismic vibrations propagate over long distances, permanent deformations mainly affect structures built directly on the fault trace. After the 1999 Turkey and Taiwan earthquakes, which involved surface faulting, researchers increasingly focused on the effects of permanent displacement. The wide variation in structural vulnerability during these events—from extensive damage to minor losses—highlighted the importance of studying fault-structure interaction. This paper, focusing on buildings as one of the most important types of surface structures, reviews field observations, laboratory models, and numerical simulations on fault-structure interaction. Mitigation strategies are categorized as geotechnical and structural measures, presented in separate tables along with their validation methods and key limitations of each approach. The effectiveness of these measures is influenced by factors such as fault type, foundation geometry and position, superstructure characteristics, and soil properties. The review shows that foundation type is the most critical factor affecting structural vulnerability. Among the mitigation strategies, rigid mat foundations, strongly supported by field evidence, are the most reliable. The discussed mitigation methods and their conditions of application can provide useful guidance for the practical design of structures in fault zones. Finally, key uncertainties—such as the precise location of fault rupture and the generalizability of laboratory and numerical findings—are highlighted, and directions for future research are provided.