The response of structural elements under impact conditions is a particularly important consideration in the design of components made from composite materials. The understanding of this response includes both the impact behaviour and the influence of some design parameters and material properties. Thus, the dependence of the residual compressive strength of ballistically impacted carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) laminates on their thickness has been examined. A previously verified model developed by the authors, has been applied resulting in rather interesting findings about the effect of the thickness on the sensitivity of a laminate to impact. The model takes into account the number of plies, the impact energy and the stacking sequence. Experimental results derived from the literature have been used for the verification of the model and a close agreement between theoretical predictions and experimental results was found. Also, it can be concluded that the present work helps to optimize laminate impact behaviour by varying the laminate thickness.