Acute spinal cord injury can produce neurologic injury with many physical, psychological and social ramifications. It has been shown that two separate components combine to produce neurologic damage in acute spinal cord injury : the primary and secondary injuries. The primary mediators of spinal cord injury include the actual mechanical tissue disruption which is a passive process that occurs immediately following the trauma. A secondary injury cascade follows which appears mediated by cellular and molecular processes working through complex mechanisms. Both the primary and secondary injury cascades produce cell death both in neuronal and supporting cell tissues. Recovery from central nervous system(CNS) disorders is hindered by the limited ability of the vertebrate CNS to regenerate injured cells, replace damaged myelin sheath, and re-establish functional neuronal connections. Of many CNS disorders including multiple sclerosis, stroke, and other trauma, spinal cord injury is one of the important diseases because of the direct association with the functional loss of the body. Previous studies suggest that substantial recovery of function might be achieved through regeneration of lost neuronal cells and remyelination of intact axon in spinal cord injury which is occurred frequently. As a therapeutic approach in spinal cord injury, recently, cell transplantation provides a potential solution for the treatment of spinal cord injury. This review describes the characteristics of spinal cord injury and presents some evidence supporting functional recovery after cell transplantation following spinal cord injury.