Abstract: Carbon fiber is a new high-performance fiber, which plays important role in national economy and national defense industry, while polyacrylonitrile (PAN) -based carbon fiber is currently the main carbon fiber variety. In this paper, the current market situation of carbon fiber both at home and abroad is discussed, and the carbon fiber production at home and abroad is compared and analyzed from the aspects of production technology and equipment, product property and consumption, investment, etc. It draws the conclusion that compared with foreign counterparts, China still has a long way to go in terms of product quality, application system and local-manufactured equipment, but it has certain advantages in production capacity and price. It also points out that the key tasks and difficulties of developing PANbased carbon fiber in China lie in localization of key equipment, engineering of high-performance carbon fiber preparation and application of composite materials.

Key words: PAN-based carbon fiber; composite material; spinning method; aviation & aerospace; Toray