Abstract: The electroless copper plating process for continuous carbon fiber using CuSO4·5H2O as the main salt and formaldehyde as reducing agent was experimentally studied, including the effects of pH values and concentration of chelating agents, additives and reducing agent on the electroless plating process. The surface morphology and composition of coating were investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and deposited the coating thickness was measurated by way of dissolution. The results indicated that the pretreatment of carbon fiber before plating is so important that it is not only able to prevent from the black core phenomenon but form an active absorption area with Ag as the center on the carbon fiber surface. With the process parameters got and optimized experimentally, the carbon fiber plated with copper shows homogeneous coating with favorable mechanical properties due to stable bath, such as the high bonding strength of coating.