Abstract As the Demand of low cost, tailor-made products are increasing in the contemporary industries, the research and development of different material processing techniques has been intensified. Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is most successful and popular additive manufacturing technique which used thermoplastic polymers as raw materials. This paper aims to study and analyze the fundamental working process, applications, limitations and challenges for FDM technology in present and future. Poor surface finish, which is one of intrinsic defect of this technology, has been considered as major barrier against implementation in critical application areas. Various chemical, mechanical and pre-processing techniques are elaborated along with detailed literature review. The impact of finishing operations in materials properties and overall cost of product has also been discussed in detail. The study also discussed the current and future challenges along with remedies which would help this technology to sustain in competitive environment.