Adult mesenchymal stromal cells are promising therapeutically due to their multipotent differentiation capacity, immunomodulatory properties, paracrine signalling capacity and ability to migrate to sites of injury. The potential use of adipose-derived stromal cells (ASCs) as a cellular therapy for treating delayed healing, non-healing and chronic wounds, their optimal route of administration, bio-distribution and fate once administered, requires investigation. This study aimed first to establish the location and survival of systemically and locally administered ASCs during wound repair under physiological conditions and second, the effect of locally administered ASCs during wound repair under pathological conditions of hyperglycaemia and ischemia. The data showed that despite the limited systemic homing capacity of ASCs, improved wound healing was nonetheless observed under physiological conditions. Locally administered ASCs were distributed at the wound edge and wound bed where they promoted wound repair. Under pathological conditions, ASCs enhanced wound closure by improving wound cellularity.