SiC_p/Al composites have excellent comprehensive properties and have been widely used in the field of high and new technology. Meanwhile, the presence of SiC particles as reinforced phase in SiC_p/Al composites makes SiC_p/Al composites extremely difficult to cut, which easily causes a series of processing damage. In this paper, the machining defect types, defect formation mechanism, defect control strategy, tool wear mechanism and optimization strategy of SiC_p/Al composites were summarized. And the research prospect of processing damage of SiC_p/Al composites was discussed.