The therapy for articular cartilage trauma was a major challenge in the medical field. However due to their 3D cross linking capability and tissue mimicking nature , hydrogel played a crucial role in cartilage regeneration. However, when compared to traditional gels, hydrogels have many distinct properties that make them desirable for several biomedical applications. Firstly, the compact size of the hydrogels enables it to pass through the compact needles and catheters, which is useful for minimally invasive cells and biological deliveries in case of cartilage tissue regeneration. Further, the physical interactions among the polymers also lead to shear thinning behavior that enables the solid-like consistency in case of hydrogel scaffolds without the need for chemical modifications. In general, the polymeric hydrogels thus approaching the ideal characteristics must adhere to the site of the application, relieve traumatic signs, facilitate the faster rate of cartilage regeneration and seek to restore the normal daily activities of the preclinical or clinical subjects. Furthermore, in this review addresses past and current efforts with a brief overview of the highlighted properties for cartilage repair applications of hydrogel scaffolds made from both natural and synthetic polymers. We reviewed the multi scale properties of the hydrogel scaffolds such as mechanical properties and porosity. Moreover, this review focuses primarily on illustrating the characteristics of ideal polymeric hydrogels that are compatible with cartilage repair.