The electrolytic plating of a metallic nickel on carbon fiber surfaces was carried out to improve mechanical interfacial properties of carbon fiber/epoxy resin composites. The surface characteristics of carbon fibers and the mechanical interfacial properties of final composites were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and interlaminar shear strength (ILSS), respectively. It was found that the electrolytic Ni-plating conditions significantly affected the degree of adhesion at interfaces between carbon fibers and epoxy resin matrix in a composite system. Especially, the increase of O,$_{1s}$/$C_{1s}$ ratio, production of NiO groups, and formation of metallic nickel on the nickel-plated carbon fiber surfaces led to an increase of the ILSS of the composites. Also, the ILSS of the composites was greatly correlated with the $O_{1s}$/$C_{1s}$ ratio of the carbon fibers treated in this work.is work.