To investigate the effect of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) combined with arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (Arg-Gly-Asp, RGD) peptide modified hydrogel on regenerative repair after spinal cord injury (SCI) in rats. Methods: Fifty SD rats were randomly divided into five groups: sham operation group (Sham group), model group (SCI group), adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell group (ADSCs group), RGD peptide-modified hydrogel group (p-Gel group), and adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell combined with hydrogel group (ADSCs-pGel group), with 10 rats in each group. The SCI model was established using a transection method, and each group was injected with 100 μL of normal saline, ADSCs, RGD peptide-modified hydrogel, or a mixture of ADSCs and RGD peptide-modified hydrogel at the site of spinal cord injury. The Basso Beattie Bresnahan (BBB) scale was used to score the motor function of the rats' hindlimbs on days 1, 3, 7, 14, 21, and 28 after modeling. On day 7 after modeling, immunofluorescence staining was used to detect the expression levels of CD68 (clone ED-1), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and neurofilament-200 (NF-200). Results: Starting from day 7, the BBB scores of the ADSCs-pGel group were higher than those of the SCI group (P<0.05). From day 14 onwards, the BBB scores of the ADSCs-pGel group were higher than those of the ADSCs group (P<0.05), and the BBB scores of the p-Gel group and ADSCs group were higher than those of the SCI group (P<0.05). The fluorescence expression levels of ED-1 and GFAP in all groups were significantly higher than those in the Sham group (P<0.001), but the fluorescence expression levels of ED-1 and GFAP in the ADSCs-pGel group were significantly lower than those in the p-Gel group and ADSCs group (P<0.01). The fluorescence expression level of NF-200 in all groups was significantly lower than that in the Sham group (P<0.001), but the fluorescence expression level of NF-200 in the ADSCs-pGel group was significantly higher than that in the p-Gel group and ADSCs group (P<0.001). Conclusion: Transplantation of ADSCs combined with RGD peptide-modified hydrogel to the SCI site can promote the recovery of motor function in the hindlimbs of rats, and the effect is more significant than the single application of ADSCs or RGD peptide-modified hydrogel.