Abstract: Aluminum nitride (AlN) has the characteristics of high thermal conductivity, good insulation, low thermal expansion coefficient and non-magnetic. Therefore, AlN is considered a key material for high-end semiconductor and electric vacuum devices and has been widely applied in the power device manufacturing in the fields of aerospace, rail transportation, new energy equipment, high power LED, 5G communication, power transmission and industrial control. High-grade powder is the basis of high-performance ceramics. The properties of AlN powder directly affect the forming, sintering, and microstructure and performance of AlN ceramics. Carbothermal reduction method is a promising method to produce AlN powders with high purity, fine particle size and high sinterability. This paper reviews the evaluation metrics of AlN powders and the recent progress of carbothermal reduction method, and proposes the potential directions and trends of future research and industrialization.