The irreversibility of nerve cell injury is the main pathological basis of disability in stroke patients. In recent years, it has been found that neural stem cells (NSCs) with multi-directional differentiation potential and self-renewal capacity can proliferate under stress in the adult central nervous system, migrate to the injured area and differentiate into neural cells, thus participating in the repair of nerve injury. However, due to the limited number of homing stem cells, it is difficult to make up for the vacancy caused by the massive necrosis of neurons. This paper reviews the molecular mechanism of NSCs homing under ischemia and hypoxia, and explains the application prospect of NSCs in ischemic stroke.