<p>Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) was a widely used new type of composite material. Because of its high strength, high hardness and poor thermal conductivity, traditional machining methods faces great challenges in the machining accuracy, surface quality, and tool wear. Due to the lack of direct contact between the tool electrode and workpiece during the machining process, electric discharge machining (EDM) was suitable for processing difficult-to-machine materials. However, traditional EDM processes of CFRP faced the problems such as the medium pollution and limited processing size. To solve the above problems, this study innovatively proposes the EDM of CFRP in high-pressure airflow using the EDM machine tool based on a six-DOF robot to achieve efficient, high-quality, and green machining of CFRP. In this study, the material removal mechanism and surface damage formation mechanism in EDM of CFRP in high-pressure airflow were analyzed. Based on the single factor experiment of the through-hole machining, the influences of the breakdown voltage, air pressure, pulse frequency, duty cycle and peak current on the machining efficiency and the surface quality were explored. The method proposed in this study has a broad application prospect for green, high-quality, and efficient machining of large CFRP components by EDM with low cost.</p>