Cellulose is the most abundant macromolecule on earth and most cellulose is produced by vascular plants. Unlike plant cellulose, bacterial cellulose (BC) does not require remedial processing to remove unwanted impurities and contaminants such as lignin and hemicellulose. BC also exhibits some advantages over plant cellulose including higher purity (no hemicellulose and lignin), longer fiber length (a greater degree of polymerization and higher mechanical strength), and can be grown to any desired shape. BC has been commercialized as products such as diet foods, filtration membranes, paper additives, and wound dressings. This review article presents an overview of BC structure and biosynthesis, applications, state-of-the-art advances in enhancing BC production, and its material property through the investigations of genetic regulations, fermentation parameters, and bioreactor design. In addition, future prospects on its applications through chemical modification as a new biologically active derivative will be discussed.