BackgroundCyclic nucleotide-gated ion channels (CNGCs) are nonselective cation channels that are ubiquitous in eukaryotic organisms. As Ca2+channels, some CNGCs have also proven to be K+-permeable and involved in plant development and responses to environmental stimuli. Sugarcane is an important sugar and energy crop worldwide. However, reports on CNGC genes in sugarcane are limited.ResultsIn this study, 16 CNGC genes and their alleles were identified fromSaccharum spontaneumand classified into 5 groups based on phylogenetic analysis. Investigation of gene duplication and syntenic relationships betweenS.spontaneumand both rice andArabidopsisdemonstrated that the CNGC gene family inS. spontaneumexpanded primarily by segmental duplication events. ManySsCNGCs showed variable expression during growth and development as well as in tissues, suggesting functional divergence. Light-responsivecis-acting elements were discovered in the promoters of all the identifiedSsCNGCs, and the expression of most of theSsCNGCs showed a diurnal rhythm. In sugarcane, the expression of someSsCNGCs was regulated by low-K+treatment. Notably,SsCNGC13may be involved in both sugarcane development and its response to environmental stimuli, including response to low-K+stress.ConclusionThis study identified the CNGC genes inS.spontaneumand provided insights into the transcriptional regulation of theseSsCNGCs during development, circadian rhythm and under low-K+stress. These findings lay a theoretical foundation for future investigations of the CNGC gene family in sugarcane.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-023-09307-3.