Carbon fibers (CFs) are extensively used as advanced fiber reinforcement material in thermoplastic and thermoset resin-based polymer composites. The properties of the CFs compared to the other synthetic fibers include those that provide great specific stiffness and mechanical strength, besides good thermal and electrical conductivity. The purpose of this review is to examine the recently published studies on different types of CF-reinforced thermoplastic and thermoset matrix-based composites. This review is focused on the composites with different polymeric matrices but short carbon fibers alone as the reinforcement material, contrary to the other studies on composites. While polypropylene (PP), poly (phenylene sulfide) (PPS), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyamide (PA), and polylactic acid (PLA) are selected as the thermoplastic matrix, epoxy resin is preferred as thermosetting resin-based CF reinforced composites.