Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fiber was metallized by nickel-phosphorus (Ni-P) in an electroless plating process. Firstly, the surface of PAN fiber was activated by palladium (Pd) nanocatalysts by using a drying process in which palladium(II) bis(acetylacetonate), Pd(acac)(2) was spontaneously reduced to Pd nano catalysts in180 degrees C N-2 atmosphere without using any reducing agent. And then Ni-P alloy was coated on the Pd activated PAN fiber in an electroless Ni-P plating solution without using SnCl2-sensitizing solution. The morphology was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and elemental analyses were carried out by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The composition ratio of Ni: P was 85.3: 14.7 atomic % and the growth rate of Ni-P layer decreased with increasing plating time. The thickness of Ni-P plating layers for 10, 30 and 60 min were 0.64, 1.03 and 1.22 mu m, respectively. Electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI-SE) of Ni-P plated PAN fiber (50 wt%)epoxy composite was more than 30 dB in the frequency range from 30 MHz to 1500 MHz. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.