An attempt has been made to review and analyze the developments made during last few decades in the field of high performance carbon fibers. The focus is primarily on high technology sector, which includes aerospace and nuclear engineering or other areas, where the large scale use of carbon fibers is driven by maximum performance and not by cost factors. We have identified and suggested some specific areas for future research in order to minimize the gap between theoretical and practically realized tensile strengths and other mechanical properties of carbon fibers.