Abrasive water jet machining technology is an unconventional special process technology; its jet stream has high energy, and its machining process is characterized by no thermal deformation, no pollution, high applicability, and high flexibility. It has been widely used for processing different types of materials in different fields. This review elaborates on the basic principles and characteristics of abrasive water jet processing, the mechanism of erosion, the simulation of the processing, the influence of process parameters in machining removal, and the optimization of improvements, as well as introduces the current application status, new technology, and future development direction of abrasive water jet technology. This review can provide an important information reference for researchers studying the machining processing of abrasive water jet technology.