The paradigm for the weapon system acquisition of the Republic of Korea is evolving from overseas procurement to domestic research and development(R&D). R&D of the weapon system requires a big amount of investment capital, has to be done in long-run, has a high risk of failure of the development, is technically complicated and has a very complex program procedures with many institutions related to one another. Therefore, risk management of the R&D project plays a very important role in deciding whether the program will be successful or not. Therefore, Defense Acquisition Program Administration of the Republic of Korea chooses risk management process. Nonetheless, the current process is merely a practical management of risk factors which were normally identified by the intuition of a working group personnel, and there are many policies that need to be complemented because of the lack of experience during the initial introduction phase, which creates limitations on verifying the effectiveness of the risk management work. Because of such background, this research analyzes the characteristics and limitations of existing researches by having an in-depth review of existing literatures in national defense and civilian field in relation with risk management of R&D, and, by utilizing the results, the research suggests issues that can be applied to the R&D program management of national defense as well as future research directions.