Abstract: Animal cell cultivation is one of the frontiers in modern biochemical engineering. It is becoming an unique high tech industry and displays tremendous prospects for industrial development. This article provides a detailed survey of recent development in animal cell cultivation and emphasis is placed on the fields of genetic engineering and cell fusion for animal cells; novel bioreactors for animal cell cultivation and corresponding techniques for process monitoring and control; techniques for serum free cultivation; techniques for microcarriers and microencapsulation. On the basis of above mentioned survey, the existent problems and prospects for animal cell cultivation are discussed.