BACKGROUND:Umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cel s are multipotential stem cel s in the mesoderm in early development stage, and have been paid great attention due to its properties of multi-directional differentiation. OBJECTIVE:To summarize the potential of induced differentiation of umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cel s. METHODS:We retrieved PubMed Database for articles concerning the differentiation potential of umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cel s published from January 1999 to December 2012. In titles and abstracts, the key words were“umblical cord blood, mesenchymal stem cel s, potential, differentiation”. Total y, 52 articles addressing the differentiation potential of umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cel s were reviewed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Numerous studies have confirmed that human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cel s can successful y differentiate into multiple kinds of cel lines, but their understanding remains minor. If we can master the characteristics of the differentiation potential of umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cel s, it would be used to repair bone and myocardium detects. Present studies remain in a starting stage. Isolation and purification, regulation of differentiation direction, in vitro amplification and immunogenicity require further investigations.