In contrast to the machining of metallic materials, drilling of the fiber reinforced composite materials presented unique challenges as its cutting behavior differs in several aspects. This work presents an analysis to determine the drilling characteristics in carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) composite using HSS twist drill, HSS brad drill and carbide dagger drill. The study is based on Taguchi�s method and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The experiments were conducted to quantify the statistical contributions of the spindle speed and feed rate for those three drills. The results indicated that the feed rate is recognized to make the most significant contribution to the thrust force, which reflects the hole quality and tool wear. In overall, brad drill promoted better hole quality at the exit side. A low thrust force, insignificant hole defect and hence, better drill condition was obtained with this drill at a cutting speed of 800 rpm and feed rate of 0.04 mm/rev. © 2018, Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.