Angiogenesis is the formation of new microvessels by endothelialcell migration and proliferation from preexisting vessels. This process is essentialfor numerous physiological events such as embryonic development, ovulation,and wound healing. Angiogenesis is also beneficial in tissue recovery byreperfusion of ischemic tissue but is maladaptive for arteriosclerosis, diabetes andtumor growth. It is therefore important to be able to control angiogenesis. In vitroexperiments have significantly advanced our understanding of angiogenesis.Many kinds of in vitro angiogenesis models have been designed to study theeffects of angiogenesis regulators（e.g. growth factors）. We have assessed theeffect of shear stress and extracellular matrix on angiogenesis using several invitro models. Our results reveal that these factors affect properties of endothelialcells in angiogenesis and each model has a future prospect relating to thedirection of each specific study.