Tissue and cell sources for cartilage repair are revised, including: 1) cartilage and subchondral bone (auto and allografts; single or multiple/mosaicplasty grafts), 2) cultured chondrocytes (autologous/ACI, characterized/CCI, matrix assisted/MAC, or allogenic), 3) adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), 4) progenitor cells from perichondrium and periosteum, 5) embryonic and prenatal stem cells, 6) induced pluripotent stem cells, and 7) genetically modified cells. We consider the biological mechanisms that explain usage and possible complications, advantages and limitations, emerging technologies and possible modulations on extracellular matrix properties and on migration, proliferation, de-differentiation, re-differentiation, morphology, function and integration of the cells. The study of MSC role involve: a) identification, b) location (perivascular niche hypothesis, pericytes as progenitor cells), c) lineage (myoadipofibrogenic system: transit amplifying cells, fibroblast/myofibroblasts, chondrocytes, osteoblasts, odontoblasts, vascular smooth muscle cells and adipocytes), and d) use in cartilage repair, comprising: 1) MSCs recruited from neighbouring tissues (bone marrow stimulation, MSCs based "in situ" cartilage repair, microfracture) and 2) MSCs cultured and expanded from bone marrow, adipose tissue, synovial membrane or granulation tissue.