A method for continuous coating of high-tensile carbon fibre rovings as components of reinforced composites by CO2 laser CVD has been developed. The deposition of TiC, TiB2, SiC and pyrolytical carbon has been investigated. These materials have been selected to act as a diffusion barrier and to increase oxidation resistance. TEM/electron-diffraction measurements show well crystallized layers of crystallite size, sometimes in the order of layer thickness (30-100 nm). After the deposition of hardcoatings, the tensile strength of the fibres (3.5 GPa) decreases typically to 80%-30%, but with pyro-C strength increases to 115%. The influence of the deposition parameters on the tensile strength is rather complex, but power density of the radiation and fibre velocity rank uppermost.