Adoptive T‐cell therapy involves the isolation, expansion, and reinfusion of T lymphocytes with a defined specificity and function as a means to eradicate cancer. Our research has focused on specifying the requirements for tumor eradication with antigen‐specific T cells and T cells transduced to express a defined T‐cell receptor (TCR) in mouse models and then translating these strategies to clinical trials. Our design of T‐cell‐based therapy for cancer has reflected efforts to identify the obstacles that limit sustained effector T‐cell activity in mice and humans, design approaches to enhance T‐cell persistence, develop methods to increase TCR affinity/T‐cell functional avidity, and pursue strategies to overcome tolerance and immunosuppression. With the advent of genetic engineering, a highly functional population of T cells can now be rapidly generated and tailored for the targeted malignancy. Preclinical studies in faithful and informative mouse models, in concert with knowledge gained from analyses of successes and limitations in clinical trials, are shaping how we continue to develop, refine, and broaden the applicability of this approach for cancer therapy.