Abstract: During weaving process, the carbon fibre tows are damaged by abrasion, which causes a decrease in the mechanical properties of the composite parts after molding. A new experimental device was designed to simulate the friction behavior of warp and weft yarn during weaving process. The effect of normal load, pretension and friction velocity on the friction and wear behavior of carbon fibre tows were investigated. The results show that the coefficient of friction decreased with the increase of normal load. Hairiness analysis and tensile fracture strength test showed the degree of wear of carbon tows increased with the increase of normal load. The friction force and coefficient of friction of carbon fibre tows increased with the increase of pretension, which was caused by the variation of the friction contact area. Although the increase of friction velocity did not affect the friction force and coefficient of friction, the period required for data stabilization was extended.