Now a days the world moves from monolithic materials to composite materials due to its good properties and low cost. In particular, these composites are used in aerospace, automobile and transportation application because of high strength to weight ratio, good wear and corrosion resistance and better damping properties etc. Among various metal matrix composites, aluminium based composites (Al6061) are used for such applications. These composites are manufactured by using various manufacturing techniques such as sand casting, stir casting, squeeze casting and friction stir welding. Moreover, these composites are prepared by reinforcing it with ceramic particles, hard metals and natural particles to enhance its properties and also to suit for various engineering applications. Hence, a complete understanding of the above is very much essential for selecting appropriate composites for various applications and also to prepare new composites with enhanced behavior. This paper reports the various manufacturing techniques used for the preparation of Al6061 composites, reinforcements used and its various characterization studies