Differentiation of specialized cell types from stem and progenitor cells is tightly regulated at several levels, both during development and during somatic tissue homeostasis. Many long non‐coding RNAs have been recognized as an additional layer of regulation in the specification of cellular identities; these non‐coding species can modulate gene‐expression programmes in various biological contexts through diverse mechanisms at the transcriptional, translational or messenger RNA stability levels. Here, we summarize findings that implicate long non‐coding RNAs in the control of mammalian cell differentiation. We focus on several representative differentiation systems and discuss how specific long non‐coding RNAs contribute to the regulation of mammalian development.