Somatic cells can be reprogrammed into a pluripotent ES‐cell‐like state (termed induced pluripotent stem cells, iPS) by transcription factors, which have enormous therapeutic potential for regenerative medicine. We have investigated whether iPS can directly differentiate into corneal epithelium‐like cells. Mouse iPS cells were co‐cultured with corneal limbal stroma. RT‐PCR, immunohistochemistry and scanning electron microscopy analysis were used to detect differentiated iPS. Undifferentiated iPS cells expressed ES cells related genes. Co‐culture with corneal limbal stroma, in the presence of additional factors bFGF, EGF and NGF, activated keratin expression 12 (K12, a marker of corneal epithelial cells) and downregulated Nanog. These data suggest that mouse iPS cells can differentiate into corneal epithelial‐like cells by replication of a corneal epithelial stem cell niche.