Human norovirus (HuNoV) is one of the world’s leading causes of acute gastroenteritis. At present, effective reproduction of the virus in cell cultures remains a challenge for virologists, as there is a lack of a permissive cell line that allows the entire viral life cycle to be reproduced. This is a barrier to the study of the HuNoV life cycle, its tropism, and virus-host interactions. It is also a major hurdle for the development of viral detection platforms, and ultimately for the development of therapeutics. The lack of an inexpensive, technically simple, and easily implemented cultivation method also negatively affects our ability to evaluate the efficacy of a variety of control measures (disinfectants, food processes) for human norovirus. In the process of monitoring this pathogen, it is necessary to detect infectious viral particles in water, food, and other environmental samples. Therefore, improvement of in vitro replication of HuNoV is still needed. In this review, we discuss current trends and new approaches to HuNoV replication in cell culture. We highlight ways in which previous research on HuNoV and other noroviruses has guided and influenced the development of new HuNoV culture systems and discuss the improvement of in vitro replication of HuNoV. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature 2024.