Abstract: The structural characteristics of a carbon cloth/felt layer needled preform are investigated. X-Y direction tensile strength, Z direction peel-off stress, and the Naval Ordnance Laboratory (NOL) ring-integrated tensile strength were tested. The X-Y direction tensile strength decreased with the increase of needling density. The law of surface density of fiber felt affecting the Z direction stress is not obvious. Peel-off stress of a 3K carbon cloth/felt needled preform is higher than that of 6K and 12K cloth/felt, and the peel-off stress of a diagonal carbon cloth/felt needled preform is better than that of a satin one. There are three different damage modes for the NOL-integrated tensile ring, namely complete rupture, incomplete rupture, and interlayer peel-off. For 3K satin carbon cloth/felt needling preform, its NOL ring-integrated tensile strength is the lowest and only 3MPa, and it shows complete rupture. For the 12K satin carbon cloth/felt needled preform, the damage mode is interlayer peel-off , and for the 6K satin carbon cloth/felt needled preform, the damage mode is incomplete rupture, and its integrated mechanical performance is excellent. NOL ring-integrated tensile strength is much higher than X-Y tensile intensity for the preforms made by same process.