Abstract: Four kinds of composite plates with different ply structures were fabricated, which are composed of thermosetting epoxy twill woven prepreg, diamond-shaped stainless steel wire mesh and aluminum alloy wire mesh. Further, low-velocity impact and compression after impact (CAI) experiments were conducted to study their damage behavior and post-impact residual compressive strength of the hybrid metal mesh structure under different energy levels. According to the double cantilever beam (DCB) tensile test and the end-notched flexure (ENF) test, the effects of metal mesh layers on the interlaminar fracture performance of carbon fiber composites were investigated. Ultrasonic scanning and two-dimensional virtual image correlation (2D-VIC) test system were employed to examine the damaged degree inside the specimen after impact and the deformation contour of the surface during the CAI test, then the strengthening mechanism were illuminated. The results show that the addition of metal mesh layers can improve the plasticity of the panel and effect area of incident energy, resulting in the improvement of absorbing impact energy, CAI strength and interlaminar shear performance. It is further found that in the ENF test of the hybrid panel, the interface damage includes not only the damage of matrix, but also the shear fracture of fiber.