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Short answer
Cell walls are found in plants, fungi, most bacteria, most archaea and some protists. Animal cells have none. So the answer to “do all cells have a cell wall?” is no: animal cells lack one, and a few bacterial and archaeal species lack walls too. What the wall is made of depends on the group: cellulose in plants, chitin and glucans in fungi, peptidoglycan in bacteria.
What a cell wall is
A cell wall is a rigid covering outside the plasma membrane. OpenStax Biology 2e describes it as a covering that “protects the cell, provides structural support, and gives shape to the cell.” It sits outside the membrane, so it is a different structure from the membrane itself. The wall is also what separates a protoplast, a cell with its wall removed, from an intact cell.
Which cells have cell walls?
These are the groups that have walls, each with its main wall material.
Plants
Plant cells have a cell wall, chloroplasts and other specialized plastids, and a large central vacuole, whereas animal cells do not. The major organic molecule in the plant cell wall is cellulose, a polysaccharide made of glucose units.
Fungi
Like plant cells, fungal cells have a thick cell wall. Its rigid layers contain the complex polysaccharides chitin and glucans. Chitin is also found in the exoskeletons of arthropods such as insects, and it gives structural strength to fungal walls. The fungi are covered in more depth in what is mycology.
Bacteria
The major component of bacterial cell walls is peptidoglycan (also called murein), and it is found only in bacteria. Bacterial walls come in two common structures, which the Gram stain is used to tell apart. Gram-positive cells have many layers of peptidoglycan totaling 30 to 100 nm in thickness. Gram-negative cells have a much thinner peptidoglycan layer, no more than about 4 nm, and a more complex overall envelope. See what is bacteriology for the wider field.
Archaea
Archaeal cell walls do not contain peptidoglycan. Some contain a similar polymer called pseudopeptidoglycan (pseudomurein). Other archaea have a layer of glycoproteins or polysaccharides serving as the wall, and in some archaea an S-layer serves as the cell wall.
Protists
Only some protistan cells have cell walls. Where they do, cellulose is the major organic molecule in some of them, as it is in plants.
Do all cells have a cell wall?
No. Animal cells do not have one. Among the groups that usually have walls there are exceptions as well: OpenStax Microbiology notes that some bacterial species lack walls, and that “there are a few archaea that appear to lack cell walls entirely.” Most prokaryotic cells do have a wall, but “most” is not “all.”
Cell wall components by group
This table sets the groups side by side with their main wall components. Every row comes from the OpenStax texts listed under Sources (checked 2026-10-29).
| Group | Cell wall? | Main wall component |
|---|---|---|
| Plants | Yes | Cellulose (polysaccharide of glucose units) |
| Fungi | Yes, thick | Chitin and glucans (complex polysaccharides) |
| Bacteria | Most species | Peptidoglycan (murein), found only in bacteria |
| Archaea | Most species | Pseudopeptidoglycan (pseudomurein), or glycoprotein or polysaccharide layers; an S-layer in some |
| Protists | Some | Cellulose is the major organic molecule in some |
| Animals | No | None |
Why wall type matters in the lab
The Gram stain is used to differentiate the thick-peptidoglycan structure from the thin-peptidoglycan one, as covered in the CASRAI guide to the Bacillus subtilis Gram stain. A protoplast is a cell whose wall has been removed, so the wall type of the starting cell is the first thing to know before reading the protoplast guide. For the broader discipline, see what is microbiology and what is cell biology.
Common misunderstandings
- “Only plants have cell walls.” Fungi, most bacteria, most archaea and some protists have them too.
- “All cell walls are made of cellulose.” Cellulose is the plant (and some protist) wall component. Fungal walls use chitin and glucans, and bacterial walls use peptidoglycan.
- “The cell wall and the cell membrane are the same thing.” The wall is a separate rigid structure outside the plasma membrane.
- “Peptidoglycan is in every wall.” It is found only in bacteria; archaeal walls do not contain it.
FAQ
Do all cells have a cell wall?
No. Animal cells do not, and some bacteria and a few archaea lack walls as well.
What types of cells have a cell wall?
Plant cells, fungal cells, most bacterial and archaeal cells, and some protistan cells.
Which cells have cell walls, and which do not?
Plant, fungal, most prokaryotic and some protist cells have them; animal cells do not.
Where are cell walls found?
Outside the plasma membrane, as the outermost rigid layer of walled cells. In bacteria with an S-layer, the S-layer sits outside the wall, while in some archaea it serves as the wall itself.
What are examples of cell walls?
Cellulose walls in plants, chitin and glucan walls in fungi, peptidoglycan walls in bacteria, and pseudopeptidoglycan or S-layer walls in archaea.
Sources
- OpenStax, Biology 2e, section 4.3 Eukaryotic Cells: openstax.org/books/biology-2e/pages/4-3-eukaryotic-cells (checked 2026-10-29).
- OpenStax, Biology 2e, section 24.1 Characteristics of Fungi: openstax.org/books/biology-2e/pages/24-1-characteristics-of-fungi (checked 2026-10-29).
- OpenStax, Microbiology, section 3.3 Unique Characteristics of Prokaryotic Cells: openstax.org/books/microbiology/pages/3-3-unique-characteristics-of-prokaryotic-cells (checked 2026-10-29).
