Regenerative medicine is a promising new area of research that offers potential to treat diseased and injured tissue. In particular, the development of new biomaterial-based approaches shows promise for the treatment of challenging bone and cartilage injuries. Recent trends have focused on the development of biofunctional materials that have bioactive properties and are capable of supporting and promoting new tissue formation during the tissue repair process. This article discusses current biomaterial-based approaches for bone and cartilage repair and highlights emerging material functionalization methodologies including surface modification, growth factor delivery, cell-seeding strategies and gene therapy.