A support vector machine is a new machine learning technique developed on the basis of statistical learning theory, and it is the most successful realization of statistical learning theory. For machine learning tasks involving pattern classification, regression estimation, and function approximation, the support vector machine has increasingly become a popular tool. In this paper a survey of the recent new development on the research and application of the support vector machines is made. Some important issues to be investigated in application and the direction of research of the support vector machine have been pointed out simultaneously.