Abstract: As an excellent self-lubricating material,polyimide(PI) has grasped the concentration of scientists in the world.The friction and wear of PI are affected by many factors.The variation of μ with sliding time could be divided into two periods,i.e.,fluctuating and stable.Temperature impacts on the tribological performance by the mobility of molecules.Friction heat and load determine the tribological performance at different sliding velocities.Sliding velocity and overload play most important role in the performance under different normal loads.Pure PI at low humidity shows better self-lubricating performance.Adhesive strength of interface and formation of transfer film are affected by different substrates and counterfaces.PI with rather low μ could be prepared by ion implanting with suitable dose.Modification of lubricating and reinforce can be carried out by the method of composite.