Background and purpose: The unique characteristics and potency of stem cells have attracted interest for their use in cell therapy. However, the use of these cells has some limitations and problems such as ethical issues. The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review on the use of embryonic stem cell for clinical therapy targets and investigating its advantages and limitations.

Materials and methods: Data was collected from electronic databases including PubMed, Science direct, Medline, Clinical trial.gov, SID, etc. The search keywords included pluripotent stem cell, Embryonic stem cell (eSC), and stem cell therapy.

Results: Study of published articles and ongoing studies showed that pluripotency, cell viability and low immunogenicity of eSC are amongst the major reasons for their use.

Conclusion: Recent developments in clinical application of eSC make them a major candidate in using stem cells alongside MSC and iPS. But, further studies are needed due to its importance in many aspects.