Abstract: There remain several drawbacks including limited availability of donor corneas as well as recurrent allograft rejection and subsequent graft failure in conventional corneal transplantation. Although there have been established eye banks in many places, donor corneas are still limited. Therefore, it is significant to expand the sources of donor cornea, and construct the tissue engineered cornea in the treatment of severe ocular surface disease. We expound the classification of seed cells in the construction of tissueengineered cornea and the repair of injured cornea. Furthermore, we analyze the advantage and disadvantage with regard to seed cells in the construction of tissueengineered cornea, and supply some ideas for the research of tissue engineered cornea.  (Int Rev Ophthalmol, 2012, 36: 8892)