Reconfigurable Manufacturing System (RMS) is one of most promising paradigms that provide an effective solution to changes and uncertainties in a competitive manufacturing environment. A Reconfigurable Assembly System (RAS) is a key component of an RMS. In this paper, our survey on the development of RAS has been summarised. The objectives of this literature survey are to: clarify the needs and drivers in developing reconfigurable assembly systems identify both academic and practical issues critical to the development of reconfigurable assembly systems understand the state of the art of R&D related to the studies on the critical issues reveal the future research directions, which are mostly beneficial to manufacturing industries.