Purpose of review: Advances in cartilage tissue engineering have set the stage for further work on bone and joint engineering, although significant hurdles need to be overcome for clinical applications. Recent findings: The main themes in recent research on cartilage and bone tissue engineering include novel scaffolds for cell-free or cell-based approaches, the sources of the cells for neocartilage or new bone, and the potential enhancing effects of factors and mechanical signals before transplantation. Summary: There has been a decade of experience with the use of suspensions of autogenous chondrocytes after expansion in vitro for the treatment of focal cartilage defects. There is even longer experience with percutaneous injections of autogenous marrow for treatment of nonunion of bone fractures. The goals for future clinical practice include the design of cell-free materials that stimulate tissue regeneration where needed, minimally invasive collection of stem cells/progenitors/precursors of chondrocytes or osteoblasts, efficient delivery of cells or engineered tissue, optimization of tissue formation in vitro by adding factors or mechanical stimuli, enhancement of the integration of engineered tissue with the recipient bed, and revascularization and growth of the engineered constructs.