A logical approach for prophylactic HIV-1 vaccine development begins by recognition that the regimen needs to contain viruses which are not cleared by primary host immune responses and develop persistent infection. Hence the required strategy is different from the one against self-remitting acute infections which aims at eliciting robust host immune responses in advance by infection mimicry. Host adaptive immune responses do play a central role in primary resolution from acute HIV-1 and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection, but as observed in the non-remitting disease course, their function is not fully exerted, leading to failure in viral containment. Either overcoming the limitations of antiviral immunity in natural infection or augmenting the effectors potentially capable of controlling virus replication would be essential for development of an effective HIV-1 vaccine. This approach is hand-in-hand with understanding of the reversibility of various steps leading to establishment of persistent HIV-1 infection. This article reviews the interplay between HIV-1/SIV and the infected host, mainly focusing on macaque models of SIV infection and characterization of the two major wings of adaptive immunity, cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) and neutralizing antibodies. Discussed in parallel are the up-to-date topics of HIV-1 vaccine development including our recent progress.