Abstract: The oxidized carbon fibers (OCF₁ and OCF₂) were prepared via surface oxidation treatment in H₂O₂ and concentrated HNO₃, and then modified by silane coupling agent γ-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane(KH-570), to obtain the KH-570 grafting modified carbon fibers(KCF), which were applied to the unsaturated polyester self-healing composites. Effects of different modification agents and modification methods on the properties of carbon fiber/unsaturated polyester composites were compared. The effect of surface modification of carbon fiber, the structure and the performance of carbon fiber/unsaturated polyester composites were characterized by FTIR, XPS and SEM. The mechanical properties of composites were measured by universal tensile testing machine, izod impact device and shore durometer. The results show that the activity of the carbon fiber's surface functional group content and roughness increases because of the oxidation and grafting reaction, thereby improving the compatibility between carbon fiber and unsaturated resin matrix. The integrated mechanical properties of OCF₁/UP composites are better than OCF₂/UP composites'. In the three composites, the mechanical properties and the self-healing efficiency of KCF/UP composites are best with self-healing efficiency of 67.03%.