The effects of milling process parameters on cutting forces and surface roughness were studied during peripheral up milling of bamboo scrimber. The study results indicated that the effect of feed rate on cutting force components Fx, +Fy, -Fy, and surface roughness Ra were the most significant compared to spindle speed and cut depth during longitudinal milling. Fx, +Fy, -Fy, and Ra decreased slightly with increasing spindle speed, but increased greatly with increasing feed rate. In addition, cutting direction had a great effect on the cutting force components Fx and +Fy, as well as the machined surface roughness Ra. Fx, +Fy, and Ra during longitudinal cutting were always larger than those during end-grain cutting. Decreasing the feed rate appropriately could greatly improve the quality of the machined surface.