This paper investigates and selects the areas that need to be improved in R&D and production management of small and medium size companies. The study on the capability of R&D and production management shows that the areas for evaluating of the R&D and production management levels are composed of 8 elements : R&D resource, R&D support and experience, long-term operations strategy, intermediate range planning, short-term planning, subcontractor management, logistics and inventory management, and quality management. The investigation of the gap between the importance of the areas and the capability of SMEs shows that the most important things are to consolidate supply chain, to improve product and process competitiveness using quality improvement, and to enhance production management through sophisticated short-term planning. The detailed analysis also shows that the areas that need to be improved depend on the size and sales of the company.