Objective To investigate the reliability of culture method of adult human parathyroid cells. Methods Adult human parathyroid tissue was digested by collagenase, then the original generation of cells were cultured and passaged, and their morphological changes were observed and recorded every other day. Part of the passaged cells were observed through electron microscope and its supernatant parathyroid hormone (PTH) was assayed. Meanwhile, the other part of cells were tested the parathyroid markers, including PTH, calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) and glial cells missing-2 (GCM-2) by PCR. Results Abundant cytoplasm, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus from the seventh day's passaged cells were observed by the electron microscopy, as well as, some secretory granules existing in both cytoplasm and intercellular lacuna. Also, the PTH from supernate was detected, and parathyroid specific markers, such as CaSR, PTH, and GCM2 were positive. Conclusions These trials demonstrated the adult human parathyroid cells could be harvested by collagenase digestion and the cultured. Furthermore, the cells remained good shape and kept functioning, making it a potential source for allogeneic cell transplantation to the treatment of permanent hypoparathyroidism.