High-quality audio hands-free systems involve rather complex signal processing. The development of such a system is not a straightforward task. This paper proposes a step-by-step approach to the design and implementation of an audio hands-free system. The proposed design method facilitates the implementation process and leads to a robust audio hands-free system solution. The paper also provides an overview of the problems encountered when designing an audio hands-free system. State-of-the-art solutions as well as recently proposed solutions are referred to in addition to the hands-free system design problems.