BACKGROUND:Bone defects are caused by many factors,such as inflammation,tumor,trauma or bone diseases.Erythropoietin can promote the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into osteoblasts and osteoclasts and act on vascular endothelial cells to induce angiogenesis and accelerate the repair of bone and cartilage defects.Erythropoietin is a growth factor with potential application in bone tissue engineering construction. OBJECTIVE:To expound the application and potential mechanism of erythropoietin in bone tissue engineering. METHODS:The first author searched the related articles published in CNKI,WanFang,VIP,and PubMed databases from 2004 to 2022 by computer.Search terms were"erythropoietin,bone defect,bone regeneration,angiogenesis,osteogenesis,osteoblast,osteoclast,bone tissue engineering"in Chinese and English.Finally,64 articles were included for review. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Erythropoietin can directly act on osteoblasts and osteoclasts in the bone marrow microenvironment by promoting the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into osteoblasts,osteoclasts,adipocytes,nerve cells and stromal cells.The activation of Wnt/β-catenin,hypoxia-inducible factor 1α/vascular endothelial growth factor,p38 MAPK and EphrinB2/EphB4 signaling pathways mediates the osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells.(2)Erythropoietin can not only regulate the production of erythrocytes to alter the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood but also stimulate vascular endothelial cells to promote angiogenesis.The new blood vessels can carry oxygen,nutrients,growth factors,and bone progenitor cells necessary for osteogenesis to the osteogenic site,thereby promoting bone formation and fracture healing.(3)Currently,erythropoietin is being used as a growth factor with osteogenic and angiogenic effects in various types of scaffold materials such as chitosan,polycaprolactone,bioceramics,and nanofibers through various drug delivery methods.Erythropoietin,along with other growth factors such as bone morphogenetic protein-2 and bone morphogenetic protein-9,has been applied to the surface of scaffold materials to participate in the repair of bone defects.Erythropoietin has demonstrated excellent practicality in the construction of new tissue-engineered bone and has potential clinical application value.