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Ultra-wideband (UWB) transmission is an emerging wireless communication technology with unique potential merits such as high-rate, low-transmission power, immunity to multipath propagation, and capability in precise positioning. It has received significant interests for future wireless communications from both academia and industry. In UWB wireless networks, medium access control (MAC) is essential to coordinate the channel access among competing devices. The unique UWB characteristics not only pose significant challenges but also offer great opportunities in efficient UWB MAC design. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of UWB MAC development on four important aspects: multiple access, overhead reduction, resource allocation, and quality of service (QoS) provisioning, and identifies some future research issues.