Computer aided process planning (CAPP) has been regarded as not only an important research area for the informatization on shop-floor level, which presently remains a relatively weaker sector in information-based manufacturing, but also a bridge across the informatization of shop-floor and enterprise levels. For its wide spectrum of tasks with vast amount of contents involved, as well as for its strong necessity in customization to different manufacturing sectors and various manufacturing processes, CAPP has met with difficulties in generalization and commercialization. On the other hand, due to its position as cross point among various manufacturing activities, it has been proven difficult in integrating with other enterprise application systems. This paper introduces some advancements in the R&D of CAPP, including the application of framework technology in the development of an open architecture CAPP platform, system integration based on BOM transformation, as well as promoting the application of CAPP thorough solving typical problems for some specific industries. In addition, some trends in the R&D of CAPP are also pointed out, i.e., quantified analysis and parameter setting, CAPP based on 3D models and CAPP for shop-floor applications are important directins for further R&D in this area.