Craniomaxillofacial hard and soft tissue defects are clinically common and frequently encountered diseases that seriously affect the appearance and function of patients. Restoration and reconstruction of craniomaxillofacial hard and soft tissues are comprehensive clinical problems that require a multi-disciplinary approach and are faced with many unresolved issues. Development of tissue engineering has introduced new concepts to craniomaxillofacial restoration and reconstruction. Tissue engineering primarily aims to determine suitable seed cells. Recently, adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AdSCs) were found to be relatively ideal seed cells because they are easy to obtain from numerous sources and have multiple potencies under certain inducing circumstances and high augmenting ability. This review provides an overview of the application of AdSCs in craniomaxillofacial restoration and reconstruction.