Ni@Kevlar^? fabric was prepared by electroless plating process using high performance Kevlar^? fabric as substrate and activated by etchant-free, palladium-free, and tin-free swelling-silver pretreatment. SEM and HRTEM were used to observe the morphology of the fabric and the cross section of the fiber. The mass gain, thickness and areal density of the samples at different plating time were investigated. The composition and structure of different Ni@Kevlar^? fabrics were measured by EDS, XPS and WXRD. The electrical and magnetic properties of the materials were measured by four-probe tester and PPMS. Results showed that the exploitation of etchant-free, Pd-free, tin-free swelling-silver activation was very simple and efficient to fix massive silver seeds into the fiber matrix and facilitate the ensuing electroless Ni plating process with maintenance of the remarkable properties of the Kevlar^? fabric, and exerted positive influence over the adhesion between the fiber matrix and the subsequent pure Ni nano-crystalline layer. Coaxial electromagnetic shielding test results demonstrated the excellent shielding effectiveness (up to 70 dB) at low-frequency band (0.1 MHz~1.5 GHz) and the fair shielding effectiveness (up to 25 dB) at high-frequency band (2~18 GHz), which could well meet the electromagnetic shielding needs of life and production.