The XRD, SEM. isothermal oxidation-weight loss and non-isothermal thermogravimetry (TG)-differential thermogravimetry (DTG) were used to study the oxidation properties and oxidation decomposition kinetics of three-dimensional (3-D) braided carbon fiber (abbreviated as fiber). The results showed that the non-isothermal oxidation process of fiber exhibited self-catalytic characteristic. The kinetic parameters and oxidation mechanism of fiber were Studied through analyzing the TG and DTG data by differential and integral methods. The oxidation mechanism was random nucleation, the kinetic parameters were: lg A = 10.299 min(-1); E-a = 156.29 kJ mol(-1). (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.