Improving the bonding strength in carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP) is important for the increasingly growing functional use of these materials. Here, we investigated and compare the effects of a pulse CO2 laser-based surface treatment on the bond strengthening of CRFPs. The microscopic morphology, wettability, chemical composition and mechanical properties of the sample surface were characterized by using scanning electron microscopy, laser confocal microscopy, contact angle measurement, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and tensile testing machine. The mechanisms of different surface treatment methods on the bond strength of CFRPs were compared and analyzed. The results showed that the selective removal of resin and the induction of oxygen-containing functional groups on the surface layer of CFRP by the pulsed CO2 laser pretreatment were beneficial to the improvement of the bond strength between the adhesive joints. In addition, the gap structure formed between the fiber bundles after the pulsed CO2 laser pretreatment increases the contact area with the adhesive, which further improves the bonding performance of the CFRP surface.