The magnetron injection gun (MIG) is one of the most critical subcomponents in gyrotrons. The electron beam, which has the primary role on the gyrotron operation, is generated and configured at this part of the tube. The electron beam properties determine the excitation mode in the cavity, the power of the generated microwaves and the gyrotron e fficiency. The operation of MIGs could be influenced by several factors such as trapped electrons, manufacturing tolerances, roughness of the emitter ring, emitter temperature inhomogeneity, electron beam neutralization e ffect, etc. The influence of many of these factors on the electron beam quality has been systematically investigated during the last years. Several novelties have been proposed in order to limit the influence of these factors on the gyrotron operation. In particular, new design criteria have been proposed for the suppression of electron trapping mechanisms, a new type of the emitter ring has been proposed to minimize the influence of the manufacturing tolerances and edge e ffects on the beam quality, alternative MIG design approaches have been proposed, etc. An overview of all these works will be presented here.