A new kind of composite material combined the shape-stabilized phase change material with aluminum honeycomb used in thermal control was prepared and investigated both theoretically and experimentally. The shape-stabilized PCM prepared in this paper was experimentally validated to have stable phase change temperature, latent heat and thermal conductivity after several cycles of melting and solidification. The metal honeycomb structure could enhance the thermal conductivity and structural strength of organic PCM effectively with adding little weight to the system. The stress tolerance limit (STL) of the composite material was measured and compared with that of the shape-stabilized PCM. The results showed that the STL was promoted by 25.2%. A performance test experiment of the PCM thermal control unit was accomplished and a numerical model was established for further study. The temperature variations of the numerical model were in good agreement with the experimental data. Results showed that the addition of aluminum honeycomb structure could make the temperature variation of the heating source in a much smaller range, compared with the result that without aluminum honeycomb. The shape-stabilized PCM/aluminum honeycomb composite material showed the best combination properties of heat transfer and mechanical behavior. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.