Alzheimer’s disease （AD）， a neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system， is one of the greatest health challenges. The clinical symptoms of AD are progressive cognitive decline and behavior impairment， with characteristic neuropathological changes such as neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Current treatment of AD mostly involves comprehensive therapies to alleviate the symptoms of decline and delay the progression of the disease， but AD cannot be cured or prevented. Stem cells have the ability of self-renewal and development into different cell types. According to differentiation potential， stem cells are divided into totipotent， multipotent， and unipotent cells. In stem cell therapy， autogenous and allogenous stem cells are separated， cultured， and specifically induced into cells， exosomes， tissue， or organs in vitro， which are transplanted into the body. Because stem cells have the ability to differentiate into different types of neural cells and glial cells， stem cell therapy has become a new strategy for the treatment of AD. After being transplanted into the body， stem cells can not only differentiate and replace damaged nerve cells， but also secrete a series of neurotrophic factors through autocrine or paracrine to improve the nerve microenvironment and the regeneration of nerve cells and synapses， and inhibit neuroinflammation by regulating glial cells. In the study of treatment of AD， the commonly used stem cells are mesenchymal stem cells， neural stem cells， and induced pluripotent stem cells. In this article， we outline the main characteristics of various types of stem cells， the research progress in the application of stem cells in AD， and the results of animal experiments and clinical trials. We also briefly discuss the existing problems and challenges.