This paper is a review of a study the authors made on research that has been done on wood machining properties. The authors report the developments that have been made in this area as well as test methods and standards for evaluating wood machining properties worldwide. They have also analyzed the importance of studying wood machining properties for wood resource utilization, especially the wood from plantation grown forests. Since the testing and evaluation of wood machining properties are new subjects for the Chinese wood industry, some suggestions on conducting further investigations and establishing related national standards are given.