The work aims to perform electroless nickel-plating on carbon fiber in wire mesh catalysis method instead of traditional palladium activation method. After pretreatment processes including stripping, roughening and dispersing, catalytic reaction was performed for electroless plating on carbon fiber in wire mesh cladding method, effects of catalysis time, carbon fiber dispersion and roughening time on coating were studied in weighing method using scanning electron microscope (SEM), and composition of coatings prepared in wire mesh catalysis method and palladium activation method was analyzed based on energy spectrum analysis (EDS). The carbon fiber coating was defective when wire mesh catalysis was maintained within 10 min, granular nickel foam was present when the catalysis was maintained within 20 min; ultrasonic dispersion had better dispersion effect than that of dispersant CMC. The optimal process parameters of wire mesh catalysis method were: 4 h of acetone immersion for stripping, 15 min of surface roughening treatment at 80 ℃, ultrasonic dispersion, 20 min of wire mesh cladding catalysis for inductive plating and 20 min of electroless plating. The coating prepared in wire mesh catalysis method was compact and uniform, and composition and content analysis of the coating indicated that this coating was no worse than nickel plating prepared in palladium activation method. Wire mesh catalysis method can get better nickel-phosphorus plating on carbon fiber.