Abstract: Combined with the characteristics of current manufacturing industry, social manufacturing paradigm is introduced from two perspectives: transformation of manufacturing enterprises and shift of manufacturing paradigms. Discussions about the drivers of social manufacturing are given, and related work on social manufacturing is summarized. Furthermore, research trends and challenges of social manufacturing are addressed. Social manufacturing would satisfy the mass personalized requirements of customers, and handle the complex sharing, collaborations, and interaction problems among different kinds of stakeholders. It moves us closer to the vision of peer production in the future manufacturing industry.