Since the 19th century, human beings began to use modified natural polymer materials. Cremated rubber and nitrocellulose plastics (Celluloid) are two typical examples.

After entering the 20th century, polymer materials have entered a stage of great development. First, in 1907, Leo bakeland invented phenolic plastics. In 1920 Hermann Staudinger put forward the concept of polymer and coined the word makromolekule. In the late 1920s, PVC began to be widely used. In the early 1930s, polystyrene began to be produced on a large scale. In the late 1930s, nylon began to be produced.

With the development of modernization of industrial enterprises, the scale and automation degree of equipment cluster are getting higher and higher. At the same time, the requirements for safe and continuous production of equipment are also getting higher and higher. The traditional equipment maintenance technology based on metal repair method is far from meeting the maintenance requirements for more high-tech equipment, which needs to be developed more for equipment prevention and on-site solution. New technologies and materials, including polymer composite materials, have emerged more new maintenance technologies and materials, so as to solve more problems and meet the maintenance requirements of new equipment operation environment.

After the great development of the 20th century, polymer materials have an important impact on the face of the whole world. Time magazine believes that plastic is the most important invention of the 20th century. Polymer materials have also had an important impact in the field of culture and human life style.