Carbon fiber composites have been widely used in mechanical equipment because of its excellent properties such as light weight and high strength.One of the main factors that restricting hydraulic cylinders efficiency is the weight,and hydraulic cylinder is constitute of cylinder body,piston rod and seals structure,among which the most important part of mass reduction is hydraulic cylinder body.Therefore the solution of lightweight technology is by filament winding with carbon fiber composite to manufacture hydraulic cylinder,subsequently it is assembled with others part to form a carbon fiber composite hydraulic cylinder.The latest research progress of metal/non-metal lined cylinder and composite hydraulic cylinder at home and abroad were reviewed.The forming process of composite hydraulic cylinder was analyzed,and the effects of processing parameters on the hydraulic cylinder performance were illustrated.Finally,the development direction of lightweight hydraulic cylinder was pointed out.