The biological pacemaker has become a new strategy in the treatment of severe bradycardias, in which a kind of ideal pacemaker cells is a pivotal factor. Here we reviewed the progress in the differentiation of bone-marrow mesenchymal stem cells and adipose-derived stem cells into pacemaker-like cells by means of gene transfer, chemical molecules, co-culture with other cells and specific culture media, and we also analyzed the potential issues to be solved when they are used as seeding cells of biological pacemaker.