The thermal shock behaviour of Nicalon(TM) fibre-reinforced chemical vapour infiltrated SiC matrix composites with three different types of fibre architecture, unidirectional, 0 degrees/90 degrees, and 2-D woven, has been studied using the water quench technique. Thermal shock induced damage was characterized by the destructive four-point flexure technique and the nondestructive technique of Young’s modulus measurement by the dynamic resonance method. It was shown that the unidirectional and 0 degrees/90 degrees composites did not possess satisfactory mechanical properties or resistance to thermal shock because these fibre architectures prevented the composites from attaining high density during infiltration. Excess carbon coating was also found in the unidirectional and 0 degrees/90 degrees composites. Oxidation of this carbon coating contributed to the property degradation at high quench temperature difference. By contrast, the composite with 2-D woven fibre architecture created using the 0 degrees/30 degrees/60 degrees cloth lay-up showed superior mechanical properties and thermal shock resistance. The nondestructive technique of Young’s modulus measurement by the dynamic resonance method was successfully used in detecting the thermal shock damage.