Microfluidic techniques allow precise control of fluids and particles at the nanoliter scale and facilitate simultaneous manipulation and analysis of cultured cells, starting from a single cell to larger populations and to intact tissues. The use of integrated microfluidic devices has considerably advanced the fields of quantitative and systems biology. In this review, we survey the recent developments in microfluidic cell culture, and discuss not only the advantages but also limitations of using such systems, and give an outlook on potential future developments.