Abstract: “One generation of aircraft, one generation of materials”, materials are the foundation of aircraft manufacturing. In over a hundred years of world aviation history, the speed of aircraft development largely depends on materials. Composite materials have greatly promoted the development of the civil aircraft industry due to their high specific strength and modulus, good fatigue and corrosion resistance, and low density. At present, the amount of high-performance composites has become one of the important indicators to measure the progressiveness of civil aircraft. This article focuses on a series of aviation composite material research plans formulated and implemented by European and American countries, as well as the important achievements made. It introduces the development process of aviation composite materials in China. Summarized the current application status of composite materials in the field of civil aircraft both domestically and internationally. With the support of national policies and based on the future demand for domestic civil aircraft, this paper analyzes the advantages of composite material application in reducing aircraft structural weight, reducing operating costs, and improving economy from the aspects of raw materials, structural component manufacturing, and process equipment. The opportunities and challenges of composite material application in domestic civil aircraft are discussed.

Key words: civil aircraft, composite materials, aeronautic application, manufacturing technology, lightweight