Abstract: Unlike the majority of other tissues,cartilage is low in cellularity and basically avascular in nature,therefore,chondral lesions due to injury commonly result in the development of osteoarthritis,eventually leading to progressive total joint destruction.Current clinical treatment strategies for cartilage defects include microfracture,osteochondral autografts and allografts.Although they are often used clinically,significant drawbacks and limitations still exist.To solve these problems,cartilage tissue engineering has been recommended to promote more effective treatments.In this review,we discuss current clinical approaches for repairing cartilage,as well as cartilage tissue engineering approaches which are currently developing.We also describe potential future directions in cartilage regeneration.

Key words: joint, cartilage, injury, repair, advances