Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to improve the manufacturing of a prosthetic acetabular shell by analyzing the main factors leading to failure during the selective laser melting (SLM) additive manufacturing (AM) process. Design/methodology/approach - Different computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing processes have been applied to fabricate acetabular parts. Then, various investigations into surface quality, mechanical properties and microstructure have been carried out to scrutinize the possible limitations in fabrication. Findings - Geometrical measurements showed 1.59 and 0.27 per cent differences between the designed and manufactured prototypes for inside and outside diameter, respectively. However, resulting studies showed that unstable surfaces, cracks, an interruption in powder delivery and low surface quality were the main problems that occurred during this process. These results indicate that SLM is an accurate and promising method for production of intricate shapes, provided that the appropriate settings of production conditions are considered to minimize possible limitations. Originality/value - The contributions of this paper are discussions covering different issues in the AM fabrication of acetabular shells to improve the mechanical properties, quality and durability of the produced parts.