Over the past decade, single-cell RNA-seq analysis has revolutionized biological studies investigating the mechanisms of diseases. The value of this technique depends on its ability to identify unique cell types, identify their subpopulations and characterize all of these, as well as its ability to determine the transcription pattern that changes or disrupted due to conditions. From the perspective of intervertebral disc degeneration, the primary target cells of degeneration are the nucleus pulposus, annulus fibrosus, cartilage, end plate cells and macrophages, and the pathophysiology is largely caused by inflammation. The identification of cell subgroups in the disc, their functional analysis, and the ability to determine the differentiation and development of various cell types with this advancing technology have triggered important developments in the identification of new therapeutic targets in the treatment of disc degeneration. In this review, studies describing the populations of various cell types and specific cell-cell interactions in intervertebral disc degeneration using single-cell RNA sequence analysis were examined. Additionally, several promising research directions for single-cell RNA-seq analysis in disc degeneration are highlighted.