Conventional synthetic vascular grafts are limited by the inability to remodel, as well as issues of patency at smaller diameters. Tissue-engineered vascular grafts (TEVGs), constructed from biologically active cells and biodegradable scaffolds have the potential to overcome these limitations, and provide growth capacity and self-repair. Areas covered: This article outlines the TEVG design, biodegradable scaffolds, TEVG fabrication methods, cell seeding, drug delivery, strategies to reduce wait times, clinical trials, as well as a 5-year view with expert commentary. Expert commentary: TEVG technology has progressed significantly with advances in scaffold material and design, graft design, cell seeding and drug delivery. Strategies have been put in place to reduce wait times and improve 'off-the-shelf' capability of TEVGs. More recently, clinical trials have been conducted to investigate the clinical applications of TEVGs.