Objective To observe the relationship of osteoblasts, endothelial cells and ceramic scaffold during reconstruction of rat critical size calvarial defects with tissue engineering technique under transmission electron microscope. Methods Fourteen male adult Sprague Dawley rats were divided randomly into experimental and control groups. Bone marrow was obtained from left femurs and tibias of all rats. In experimental group, respective autogenous osteoblasts derived from bone marrow stromal cells(MSCs) different iated and proliferated in vitro and then were seeded and subcultured on porous calcium phosphate ceramics. The cell-ceramic compounds were used to repair critical-sized (8 mm diameter) calvarial defects in the corresponding rats. In control group, the ceramic without autogenous osteoblosts was used. One rat of each group was sacrificed postoperatively in the 4th, 8th, 12th, 24th, 28th weeks respectively and involved samples were removed to make decalcified ultrath in sections and observed under transmissionelectron microscope. Results Osteoblasts or osteoblast-like cells always located next to sprouting capillaries and the relationship between osteoblasts and endothelial cells was relevant in experimental group. There was a calcium depositzone distributed along the boundary of newly formed bone and the remnants of decalcified ceramic, which meant osseointegration between the ceramic and newly formed bone. The above changes did not appear in control group simultaneously.Conclusion The nanometer scale structure of ceramic scaffold benefits to angiogenesis, osteogenesis and extracellular matrix formation in repair bone defects with tissue engineering technique.