Objective To investigate the biocompatibility of type I collagen scaffold with rat bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSCs) and its role on proliferation and differentiation of BMSCs so as to explore the feasibility of collagen scaffold as neural tissue engineering scaffold. Methods Type I collagen was used fabricate collagen scaffold. BMSCs were isolated by density gradient centrifugation. The 5th passage cells were used to prepare the collagen scaffold-BMSCs complex. The morphology of collagen scaffold and BMSCs was observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and HE staining. The cell proliferation was measured by MTT assay at 1, 3, 5, and 7 days after culturein vitro. After cultured on collagen scaffold for 24 hours, the growth and adhesion of green fluorescent protein positive (GFP+) BMSCs were observed by confocal microscopy and live cell imaging. Results The confocal microscopy and live cell imaging results showed that GFP+ BMSCs uniformly distributed in the collagen scaffold; cells were fusiform shaped, and cell process or junctions between the cells formed in some cells, indicating good cell growth in the collagen scaffold. Collagen scoffold had porous fiber structure under SEM; BMSCs could adhered to the scaffold, with good cell morphology. The absorbance (A) value of BMSCs on collagen scaffold at 5 and 7 days after culture was significantly higher than that of purely-cultured BMSCs (t=4.472,P=0.011;t=4.819,P=0.009). HE staining showed that collagen scaffold presented a homogeneous, light-pink filament like structure under light microscope. BMSCs on the collagen scaffold distributed uniformly at 24 hours; cell displayed various forms, and some cells extended multiple processes at 7 days, showing neuron-like cell morphology. Conclusion Gelatinous collagen scaffold is easy to prepare and has superior biocompatibility. It is a promising scaffold for neural tissue engineering.