Umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a unique,accessible,and non-controversial source of early stem cells that can be readily manipulated.As the most common pluripotent cell,bone marrow-derived MSCs display limitations with the progress of stem cell therapy.By contrast,umbilical cord-derived cells,which have plentiful resources,are more accessible.However,several uncertain aspects,such as the effect of donor selection or culture conditions,long-term therapeutic effects,product consistency,and potential tumorigenicity,are the bottleneck in this clinical therapy.MSCs are predicted to undergo an unprecedented development in clinical treatment when a generally acknowledged criterion emerges.In the current paper,we highlight the application of umbilical cord-derived MSCs in skin therapies based on our previous studies,as well as the achievements of our peers in this field.This paper focuses on the strategies,challenges,and potential of this novel therapy.