<p>B₄C/6061Al-CFRP is a novel interlayer hybrid composite material, often used for nuclear radiation shielding. Due to the multi-layered, multiphase and heterogeneous structure characteristics of B₄C/6061Al-CFRP, the machining mechanism is extremely complex, and easily cause serious machining damage during drilling. In this study, the material removal behavior and damage formation mechanism of B₄C/6061Al-CFRP hybrid composite laminates are systematically investigated by the drilling experiments, and the influence of machining parameters on the drilling process is further explored. The results show that due to the multi-layer heterogeneity of B₄C/6061Al-CFRP, an obvious gradient evolution of the force and thermal evolution curve is presented during drilling. The removal process of B₄C/6061Al layers are mainly dominated by the plastic deformation of the Al alloy matrix and the brittle failure of B₄C particles, resulting in the formation of fragmented chips, spiral chips and squeezed chips, while the CFRP layers mainly produces powder chips and adhesion phenomena during the removal process. The drilling outlet damage of B₄C/6061Al-CFRP is mainly affected by the axial force, while the hole wall damage is dominated by the drilling temperature. Increasing the spindle speed and feed rate can both reduce drilling force, but an increase in spindle speed may cause an increase in drilling temperature, leading to a deterioration of hole wall quality. In this work, the combination of machining parameters of <i>n</i> = 3000&#xa0;rpm and <i>f</i> = 0.04&#xa0;mm/rev can achieve the minimum outlet damage, while with <i>n</i> = 2000&#xa0;rpm and <i>f</i> = 0.04&#xa0;mm/rev, the minimum hole wall damage can be obtained.</p>