The conventional way of durability assessment, based on experience with metals and still common in industry, is by fatigue life (S-N) curves, strength degradation curves, creep curves, etc., all of which are empirical and require extensive testing in every case. For composite materials, the cost associated with this approach is high because of the numerous parameters of consituent properties, geometry and architecture involved. Alternative approach is to characterize and analyze damage and its evolution, all of which belong to the field of damage mechanics. This paper will review this approach and the progress made to date, and project what lies ahead.