Abstract: The global production capacity of carbon fiber is anticipated to exceed 140 000 tons in 2020, and most of the leading companies of this industry have made plans to expand their capacities, including Toray,Mitsubishi, Toho Tena, Zoltek, etc. Besides the latest market development of carbon fiber, the application status-quo and development potential of carbon fiber and its composite materials in the fields such as wind power blade, civil structure, high pressure cylinder, electronic industry were also introduced in this article.

Key words: carbon fiber; carbon fiber composite; application field; market potential