Abstract: In this paper, a kind of helicoidal laminated bio-inspired composite is designed by imitating the microstructure of the exoskeleton of some crustaceans in nature, and then fabricated by the 3-D printing. The mechanical properties of the biomimetic composite material under three-point-bending conditions are analyzed and compared with those of the traditional laminated composites. The experimental results show that the failure modes of the helicoidal laminated composite materials are quite different from those made under the traditional laminating schemes and the delamination does not tend to occur under the bending loads for the helicoidal laminates, which means that the helicoidal laminating structure can maintain an adequate bearing capacity for a long period of time in the damage evolution. The mechanism of the high toughness of the bio-inspired composites is revealed by analyzing the crack propagation process based on the microscopic observation of the crack morphology. The results may provide some reference for the engineering application of this kind of bio-inspired composite materials.