A composite honeycomb core is widely used for lightweight aircraft materials. However, the composite honeycomb core coupled with metal-cutting machining processes does not make a very good match. This paper describes an experimental study of the shape-machining characteristics of a composite honeycomb core, in which a five-axis gantry machine is used. The experimental conditions of the offset allowance, tooling condition and feed rate were applied. The shape machining characteristics of a flat surface, a vertical surface, and a concave surface are evaluated by comparing the machining shape and burr characteristics.