In order to improve the interfacial properties between carbon fibers and epoxy matrix, supercritical water and hydrogen peroxide were used as oxidation medium for the oxidation treatment for carbon fibers. Analysis results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy suggest that the oxygen content on the carbon fibers' surfaces increases by these oxidation treatments. Scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscopy images indicate that the surface appearance of oxidized carbon fibers obviously changed. The maximal interlaminar shear strength and interface shear strength of carbon fiber/epoxy resin composite in which the fibers were treated by the supercritical water and hydrogen peroxide systems reaches 70.46 MPa and 106.66 MPa, increases by 13.4% and 29.6% respectively compared with untreated carbon fibers. (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V.