To fabricate kenaf fiber composites with electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding function, the technique of vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) and Cu film magnetron sputtering were employed. The EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) and composite surface characteristics were examined with PNA Network Analyzer, Quanta 200 environmental scanning electron microscope and OCA20 contact angle meter. After being Cu-sputter coated for 0.5 h,1 h, 2 h, and 3 h, the EMI SE values were increased to be 23.8 dB, 32.5 dB, 43.3 dB, and 48.3 dB, which denoted 99.5799%, 99.9437%, 99.9953%, or 99.9985% incident signal was blocked, respectively. The SEM observations revealed that the smoother surface of the composites was obtained by longer time sputtering, resulting in the SE improvement. The contact angle increased from 49.6 to 129.5 after 0.5 h sputtering, which indicated that the coated Cu film dramatically improved the hydrophobic property of composite. When the coating time increased to 3 h, the contact angle decreased to 51.0 because the composite surface roughness decreased with the increase in coating time. Published by Elsevier B.V.