Recently, living cells have been widely used in tissue engineering, cell therapy and other fields. To ensure the activity and functional integrity of living cells during the application, a protective shell, was constructed on the cell surface, named cell encapsulation. Cell encapsulation avoids direct contact with immune cells, antibodies, enzymes and other substances, and ensures free exchange of small materials such as oxygen, nutrients and metabolites. Hydrogels have received much attention because of their similarity to the cell matrix and their ability to form 3D structures that mimic the cellular micro-environment. Herein, cell encapsulation is briefly introduced at first, and then the applications of lignocellulose-based hydrogels in cell encapsulation are emphatically introduced in the multi cells encapsulation; In single cell encapsulated, using layer-by-layer self-assembly, Grafting to and Grafting from methods to expound the effects of hydrogel shell on cell activity and function. Finally, the future development directions and prospects of hydrogel-encapsulated cells are discussed, hoping to provide reference values for the applications of living cells in medicine and food fields.