Abstract:Plant endophytes are microorganisms that reside inside plant tissue for all or part of their life cycle. These endophytes have co-evolved with plants, contributing significantly to host growth, development, and environmental adaptation. Over the past 30 years, extensive research has been conducted on the origins, transmission, and functions of plant endophytes and the interaction mechanisms between endophytes and their host plants. However, current technological limitations hinder the pure culture of the majority of endophytes, restricting the study and utilization of these valuable microbial resources. This paper provides an overview of current methods for isolating and culturing plant endophytes, with a particular focus on cultivation-recalcitrant endophytes (CREs), highlighting recent technological innovations and advances in this field to offer insights for in-depth research and effective exploitation of endophyte resources.