The subchondral bone has long been recognized as playing an important role in articular cartilage repair.1 From an anatomic standpoint, the subchondral bone is the bony lamella that lies below the calcified zone of the articular cartilage, separated by the cement line. Trabeculae arising from the subchondral bone plate form a spongious network, the subarticular spongiosa. The term osteochondral unit reflects the close interaction between these two tissues of dissimilar intrinsic repair capacities. Here, we focus on novel translational data on the role of the subchondral bone in the development of osteoarthritis (OA) and in the field of reconstructive therapies for focal articular cartilage defects.