In 1998, biologists Thomson and Gearhart successfully derived stem cells from human embryos. One year later, several researchers discovered that adult stem cells still retain the ability to be differentiated into unrelated types of cells. Advances in stem cell research open a promising direction for applied medical science. Moreover, it may also force scientists to reconsider the fundamental theory about how cells grow up. Stem cell research was considered by Science as the top of the ten breakthroughs of science of the year[1]. This paper gives a survey of recent advances in stem cell research. In 1998, biologists Thomson and Gearhart successfully derived stem cells from human embryos. One year later, several researchers discovered that adult stem cells still retain the ability to be differentiated into unrelated types of cells. Advances in stem cell research open a promising direction for applied medical science. Moreover, it may also force scientists to reconsider the fundamental theory about how cells grow up. Stem cell research was considered by Science as the top of the ten breakthroughs of science of the year [1]. This paper gives a survey of recent advances in stem cell research.