The effect of nano cupric oxide (CuO) in combination with surfactants on the curing kinetics of phenol formaldehyde (PF) resin, as well as the bonding strength of plywood prepared using the modified resin were investigated in this study using dynamic and isothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).The result showed that the incorporation of nano Cu0 along with alkane surfactant made in the laboratory clearly reduced the apparent activation energy of the PF resin and improved the addition and condensation reactions of the PF resin. Inclusion of the surfactant had the further effect of compensating the influence of diffusion control caused by nano Cu0 alone. The shear strength of plywood suggested that the addition of nano Cu0 (1％) alone or in combination with alkane surfactant (0.55%)or sodium lignosolfonate (0.55%) in the PF resin mixture was sufficient to meet the requirement of wood-based composites manufacturing。