From the viewpoint of high field application, the mechanical and critical current properties of recently developed $REBa_2Cu_3O_y$ (RE123, RE: rare-earth) coated conductors are summarized. In addition, effective flux pinning mechanisms in RE123 are also introduced. As one of the examples for high field application, the upgrading of the 18 T cryogen-free superconducting magnet is shown. The large anisotropy of $J_c$ is a problem at low temperature and high magnetic field. The nanorod is considered as the useful methods to improve the anisotropy of $J_c$, although its efficiency becomes small at low temperature.