Abstract: Owing to their high strength, high electrical conductivity, corrosion resistance, and excellent machinability, copper and copper alloys serve as core materials in high-end industries such as aerospace, power electronics, and new energy. Traditional processes face limitations such as difficulty in forming complex structures and achieving lightweight design. Additive manufacturing (AM), with its advantages of layer-by-layer accumulation, high material utilization, and customized forming, has become a key technological path for the high-performance preparation of Cu and Cu alloys. According to the ASTM F42 standard system definition, this paper systematically analyzes and summarizes the processes of additive manufacturing for Cu and Cu alloys, including direct manufacturing (powder bed fusion, direct energy deposition, lamination, cold spray additive manufacturing technology) and indirect manufacturing technology (material jetting, photopolymerization, material extrusion, binder jetting, mold casting). Finally, we provide development and outlook for the additive manufacturing industry of Cu and copper alloys, offering suggestions from the perspectives of technological innovation, high-end application value chain, industrial ecology, and standard system. These suggestions aim to provide reference for the research and industrial-scale application of Cu additive manufacturing, further expanding its application to new strategic fields. The large-scale application of Cu additive manufacturing will undoubtedly support the upgrading of high-end manufacturing industries, cultivate future industries, and promote high-quality economic development.