Abstract. Polymer composites are manufactured using pristine and surface modified fibers. Modification with carbon nanofibers (CNF),referred to as surface nanostructuring,isperformed by CCVDof ethylene on a nickel catalyst.The resultingmicrofibers have the surface area at least 2 times as high as initially. Fiber-reinforced composites have beentested for mechanical properties.Compared to the set with pristine fibers, the composites containing the modified carbon fibers show an increase in the yield strength in the range of 20 % to 25 %. The reinforcement mechanism is also investigated, with emphasis laid on the fiber/matrix interface.