Abstract: Catch-up with the world frontier of advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) carries the great vision of realizing scientific and technological self-reliance for China. This paper apple the logistic model to identify the technology life cycle of the sub field of advanced manufacturing technology, and Revealed Technological Advantage Index (RTA) applied to analyze the technical advantages of major industrialized countries in different cycle stages of different technology sub fields. Then this paper established the cost-benefit model of catch-up in different technology cycle stages in China's advanced manufacturing technology catch-up, and give a simulation analysis based on assignment of technology value, technology distance, product and technology diffusion speed. The result shows, first, in the process of evolution, advanced manufacturing technology presents the characteristics of unbalanced sub fields and asynchronous development in periodic stages, which provides an important opportunity window for the technology catch-up for developing economies; Second, from the perspective of RTA and technology life cycle, China's opportunity window of technology catch-up is more significant in some sub fields - such as remanufacturing technology, bionic manufacturing technology and industrial robot than in others; Third, even for the fields with technology catch-up opportunity window, there is a significant difference in the total income of catch-up by initiating in different technology cycle stages. These conclusions have important enlightenment significance for China's AMT to identify the catch-up field and formulate the catch-up strategy.