BACKGROUND:Although bone tissue engineering scaffolds made of traditional methods have made certain achievements, the three-dimensional structure, mechanical strength and personalized property of the scaffolds are unsatisfied. 3D printing technology is expected to change these shortcomings. OBJECTIVE:To review the 3D printing of bone tissue engineering scaffolds and to prospect the optimization of the scaffolds. METHODS:A computer-based search of PubMed and Google academic database was performed for articles addressing the 3D printing of bone tissue engineering scaffolds published from 2008 to 2015. Articles concerning the structure design and materials of bone tissue engineering scaffolds and different 3D printing technologies for scaffold preparation were included, and repetitive and old articles were excluded. Final y, 37 articles were summarized. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Currently, 3D printing technologies used for preparation of bone tissue engineering scaffolds include melt laminated molding, stereolithography, selective laser sintering and 3DP technology. 3D printing technologies have unique advantages in mechanics, structure and personalized aspects, but there are stil many problems to be solved, such as raw materials, insufficiency of different 3D technologies, and improvement of 3D printer. Under the multi-disciplinary co-operation, 3D printing technology is expected to prepare suitable bone tissue engineering scaffolds and bring benefit to the mankind.