The different copper coatings with thickness varying from 0.3 μm to 1.5 μtm were deposited on carbon fibers using either electroless plating or electroplating method. The coated fibers were chopped and composites were fabricated with melting aluminum at 700 ℃. The effect of the copper layer on the microstructure in the system was discussed. The results show that the copper layer has fully reacted with aluminum matrix, and the intermetallic compound CuAl2 forms through SEM observation and XRD, EDX analysis. The results of tensile tests indicate that composites fabricated using carbon fibers with 0.7-1.1 μm copper coating perform best and the composites turn to more brittle as the thickness of copper coating increases. The fracture surface observation exhibits good interface bonding and ductility of the matrix alloy when the thickness of copper coating is about 0.7-1.1 μm.