Hydrogenated acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (HNBR) was mixed with carbon fiber (CF), conductive carbon black (CCB) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) to prepare microwave absorbing composites, their complex permittivity was measured in microwave frequencies (2-18 GHz), and their electromagnetic characteristics and microwave absorbing performance were studied. The real part and imaginary part of permittivity of the composites increased with increasing carbon filler loading, showing dependency on filler type. The microwave reflection loss of the composites also depended on the loading and type of fillers. The matching thickness of the absorber layer decreased with increasing permittivity, while the matching frequency decreased with increasing layer thickness. The minimum reflection loss was -49.3 dB for HNBR/MWCNT (100/10) composite, while -13.1 dB for HNBR/CCB (100/15) composite and -7.1 dB for HNBR/CF (100/30) composite. The efficient microwave absorption of HNBR/MWCNT composites is accounted from high conduction loss and dielectric relaxation of MWCNT, and strong interface scattering. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.