Tissue engineering is a promising technique to repair or reconstruct the damaged cartilage in clinical use. However, chondrocyte growth is limited by the mass transport in scaffolds as diffusion is likely to be the primary mechanism. In this study, a mathematical model was developed based on oxygen diffusion and reaction to simulate chondrocyte growth. In order to accord with the fact, effective diffusion coefficients and space limitation were considered in this model and good agreement was found between experimental data and mathematical simulations. Furthermore, relationships established in the model system can be used to optimize the situation in real bioreactors and the design of three-dimensional scaffolds.