Out of all metal-cutting process, the hole-making process is the most widely used. It is estimated to be more than 30% of the total metal-cutting process. It is therefore desirable to monitor and detect drill wear during the hole-drilling process. One important aspect in controlling the drilling process is monitoring drill wear status. There are two systems, Basic system and Online system, to detect the drill wear. Basic system comprised of spindle rotational speed, feed rates, thrust torque and flank wear measured by tool microscope. Outline system comprised of spindle rotational speed feed rates, AE signal, flank wear area measured by computer vision, On-line monitoring system does not need to stop the process to inspect drill wear. Backpropagation neural networks (BPNs) were used for on-line detection of drill wear. The output was the drill wear state which was either usable or failure. This paper deals with an on-line drill wear monitoring system to fit the detection of the abnormal tool state.