The reconstruction of articular cartilage defects is still one of the major challenges for the orthopaedic surgeon. A variety of surgical techniques such as microfracturing, transplantation of osteochondral grafts and the autologous chondrocyte transplantation have been developed over the last decades. Recent progress in material science and cell and tissue engineering has led to a worldwide increasing number of scientists working on cell-based articular cartilage repair strategies. In a workshop symposium held in Würzburg, Germany, in November 2002, leading scientists from biomedical engineering, basic science and specialized surgeons discussed the state of the art in "Cartilage Surgery and Future Perspectives".