Unidirectional, carbon fiber-reinforced polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) composites were manufactured using a powder impregnation process with integrated in-line continuous atmospheric plasma fluorination of carbon fibers to produce unidirectional carbon fiber/PVDF tapes with a fiber volume fraction of 60 +/- 2%. Carbon fiber/PVDF tapes were processed into composite laminate test specimens by compression moulding and interface-dominated composite properties were studied. Short-beam shear test results showed an improvement of up to 70% for the composite laminates containing atmospheric plasma-fluorinated T700 carbon fibers with a fluorine content of 3.7 at. %, as determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The flexural strength and modulus of the laminated carbon fiber/PVDF composites containing A PF-treated T700 carbon fibers also increased by 45% and 38%, respectively. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. AdV Polym Techn 29: 86-97, 2010; Published online in Wiley Inter Science (wwwinterscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/adv.20175