Abstract: Recently, the finite element method (FEM) hasbeen widely applied in cutting process, and plays animportant role in the investigations of technicalparameters and chip mechanism. This paper reviews thestate-of-the-arts in this field, discusses some keyaspects in the FEM simulation of cutting process, includingchip plastic formation, thermo-mechanical coupling, thecontact and friction between workpiece and tool, chipseparation criteria, and residual stress and strain. Atlast, the new trends of FEM simulation for cutting processare predicted.