Injuries to articular cartilage are one of the most challenging issues of musculoskeletal medicine due to the poor intrinsic ability of this tissue for repair. The lack of efficient modalities of treatment has prompted research into tissue engineering combining chondrogenic cells, scaffold materials and environmental factors. The aim of this review is to focus on the recent advances made in exploiting the potential of biomaterial-assisted cell therapy for cartilage engineering. We discuss the requirements for identifying additional specific growth factors and evaluating the optimal combination of cells, growth factors and scaffolds that is able to respond to the functional demand placed upon cartilage tissue replacement in clinics. Finally, some of the major obstacles encountered in cartilage engineering are discussed, as well as future trends in clinical applications.