Heterogeneity of MSCs, arising from the different tissue sources and culturing techniques, presents a significant challenge if manufacturers are to understand and preserve the favourable characteristics of these cells during their production. To address the challenge there is a need for reference standards and reliable assays to characterise MSCs and provide insight into their batch consistency and which are feasible ways to assess the potency of the final product at release. MicroRNA (miRNA) profiling is a highly-informative and broadly-applicable technique for cell characterisation: miRNA expression analyses provide sensitive assays of a stable analyte which can be used to assess the comparability of cell populations. Furthermore, alterations in miRNA expression can reveal deviations in cell phenotype which may crucially impact on the potency of manufactured cell populations.