The discovery and characterisation of haematopoietic stem cells has required decades of research. The identification of adult bone marrow as a source of haematopoietic cells capable of protecting an organism from otherwise lethal irradiation led to the intense search for their identity and characteristics. Using functional assays along with evolving techniques for isolation of haematopoietic cells, haematopoietic stem cell populations were able to be enriched and their characteristics analysed. The key haematopoietic stem cell characteristics of pluripotentiality and the ability for self-renewal have emerged as characteristics of several haematopoietic stem cell populations, including those that have recently challenged the conventional concepts of the haematopoietic hierarchy. Human allogeneic stem cell therapy relies on these functional characteristics of haematopoietic stem cells that can be isolated from peripheral blood, bone marrow or cord blood, with the additional requirement that immunological barriers need to be overcome to allow sustained engraftment while minimising risk of graft-versus-host disease developing in the recipient of transplanted stem cells. Current and future research will continue to focus on the identification of haematopoietic stem cell regulators and methods for in vitro and in vivo stem cell manipulation, including genome editing, to expand the scope, potential and safety of therapy using haematopoietic stem cells.