Abstract: The penetration resistance of the carbon fiber braided composite laminates is studied by ballistic impact experiment. The trajectory limit curve of the carbon fiber braided composites is fitted according to the Lambert-Jonas formula. The damage pattern and mechanism of the carbon fiber braided composites are analyzed. The progressive damage model based on failure criterion of Hashin and Yeh is set up. The penetration process of the carbon fiber braided composite is simulated by the finite element software ABAQUS, and the ballistic limit velocity and damage morphology of the carbon fiber braided composites are compared between penetration test and simulation. Experimental and simulation results show that the damage modes mainly include delamination failure, fiber fracture failure and matrix cracking failure. The ballistic limit velocity of the simulation results matches well with that of the experimental results.