The surface pretreatment of carbon fibre with copper 2-mercaptobenzimidazolate and copper benztriazolate inner complexes has been investigated. The structural changes on the carbon fibre surface as a result of the pretreatment were followed by diffuse reflectance infrared (DRIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The adhesion of carbon fibre to epoxy resin and the resistance to moisture and salt water for the treated composites were significantly improved.