he wear behaviors and mechanisms, the factors affecting the transverse rupture strength, the correlation between fracture toughness and the mean free path length of ductile phase, and the various fracture modes of WC-Co cemented carbides used for cutters in coaling mining machine are reviewed. It is suggested that abrasive wear, impact fatigue and thermal fatigue are the main types of failure of WC-Co cutters. It is pointed out that the major approaches to raising the service life of the cutter are the control of the she and the contiguous extent of the WC grain and the lattice type of the ductile phase.