 1. Alginate is a natural polysaccharide with excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability that has many applications in biomedicine. 2. It can be easily modified to obtain derivatives with various structures, properties, functions and applications such as drug delivery systems and cell carriers for tissue engineering. 3. Recent advances in the use of alginate and its derivatives include wound healing, cartilage repair, bone regeneration and drug delivery, which have potential in tissue regeneration applications. This article was authored by Jinchen Sun and Huaping Tan.