Advanced composite materials have been widely used in the aerospace industry and other fields due to their high specific strength, specific modulus, substantial weight reduction and good corrosion resistance. AFP machine is the necessary equipment to realize automatic laying, which is an important link affecting the laying quality and production efficiency. Therefore, the development and improvement of AFP machine has become one of the most critical issues in the manufacture of complex components of composite materials. Based on the automatic laying equipment at home and abroad in recent years, this paper discusses and analyzes the current research and application status of AFP machine based on the main structure of machine tool, the form of yarn frame, the pressure system of laying head, the heating system and the tension system, summarizes the research results of automatic laying equipment at home and abroad, analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of domestic and foreign laying equipment. Finally, the future development trend of automatic silk laying equipment is discussed and summarized, which provides a reference direction for the design and optimization of silk laying machine.