Abstract: Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) has been widely used in robotics, aerospace, engineering equipment and other fields for its advantages of thermal shock resistance, high tensile strength and corrosion resistance. Producing hydraulic cylinder with CFRP can greatly improve the lightweight level of hydraulic system and reduce energy consumption further. The paper summarizes the development status of CFRP hydraulic cylinder from five aspects: composite cylinder, piston and piston rod, molding process, sealing and lubrication, and development trends. Then the connection methods between metal and composite material in cylinder and piston are introduced, during which the reference criteria of multi-material design is given in detail. The processing technologies of hand lay-up, filament winding, pultrusion, resin transfer model forming are shown, then the problems of sealing, friction and dynamic response of CFRP hydraulic cylinder are discussed. Finally, the development trends of CFRP hydraulic cylinder are given from three aspects: Coating, processing and post-treatment.