Abstract: Ultrasonic elliptical vibration cutting has the cutting advantage of intermittent cutting characteristics, and has become a hot spot of research and application at home and abroad. It especially is used in high-performance manufacturing and processing fields of brittle materials, composite materials and other difficult-to-machine materials. At present, the mechanism of this technology and its adaptation process to difficult-to-machine materials are still immature, and need to be further explored and practiced. The unique advantages of ultrasonic elliptical vibration cutting in machining such as low cutting temperature, low cutting force, low damage, high dimensional accuracy and good surface integrity, are expounded in this paper based on analysis of the mechanism and characteristics of ultrasonic elliptical vibration cutting and the factors affecting the surface quality. The application in the fields of difficult-to-machine materials such as plastic materials, brittle materials and composite materials is summarized, providing a reference for the subsequent study of ultrasonic elliptical vibration cutting technology.