Carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) has broad application prospects in aerospace, national defense, and other fields due to its excellent performance. In order to master the removal mechanism of laser processing CFRP, and to developed a high efficiency, low damage processing method of the material, the researches of the removal mechanism of CFRP by laser processing were reviewed. The progress of laser processing CFRP materials at domestic and abroad was introduced from the aspects of laser characteristics, process parameters, gas-liquid assistance and material properties. The factors affecting the quality of laser processing CFRP were summarized. Some suggestions to improving the processing quality were proposed. Finally, the development trend of laser processing CFRP was prospected.