The use of carbon/epoxy-novolac composites as advanced ablative materials for insulation of exit cone of solid-propellant rocket nozzles are studied. In this article, three types of carbon fabrics are used and their composites are prepared by use of impregnation and hand lay-up methods. To study the thermal stability and ablation behavior, these composites are tested by thermal tests such as thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and oxyacetylene standard flame tests; the latter test is one of the most important standard tests of ablative materials. The test apparatus is made according to American standard, ASTM-E-285-80, and over 33 polymeric composites and 3 steel specimens were carried out according to its standards. It is found that the composites that are made up of C-9750 fabric (high-strength carbon fabric) in comparison with steel and the other types of carbon fabric specimens have the highest thermal stability and the best ablation behavior. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.