Abstract: With the development of sheet metal parts on large size, thin-wall, deep cavity, complicated curved-surface and hard forming materials, the manufacturing industries, such as aviation, aerospace and automobile industry, have paid more attentions to the low-cost and high flexible sheet hydroforming technology, which is up against new opportunities and challenges. The state-of-the-art of sheet hydroforming technology is introduced, and the new developing technologies, including hydromechanical deep drawing with independent radial hydraulic pressure, pre-bulging hydromechanical deep drawing, hydromechanical deep drawing with double-side hydraulic pressures, double sheets hydroforming and warn sheet hydroforming, are presented in detail. The current application statements of domestic and foreign on the domains of automobile, aerospace and others are summarized, the progress of R&D on sheet hydroforming equipments are reviewed, and the words’ largest sheet hydroforming equipment with tonnage of 150 MN and liquid volume of 5 m3 is introduced, the development tendency of sheet hydroforming technology is prospected.

Key words: auto-body panels, curved-surface part, deep drawing ratio, forming precision, hydromechanical deep drawing, sheet hydroforming, wrinkling