In recent years, externally bonded fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) material has gained popularity as an efficient means of strengthening existing civil engineering infrastructure. In the case of steel structures, FRP has frequently been deployed to strengthen against static and fatigue loads.However, the understanding of the effect of impact load on strengthened structures is still in its early stages. In parallel with this, most of the existing studies on impact have concentrated on small scale elements. Thus, the study presented here is aimed at examining the effectiveness of carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) in strengthening full-scale steel I-section columns against impact load. To achieve this aim, a non-linear finite element model built using ABAQUS was validated against experimental tests and then used to simulate the strengthening technique.The model included failure criteria of all investigated materials (steel, CFRP and adhesive material). Various parameters including boundary conditions, preloading level, kinetic energy, impact location and impact direction were examined.The CFRP strengthening technique was found to be highly effective in preventing column failure whether by global buckling failure or transverse shear failure. In addition the strengthened columns exhibited a reduced axial and transverse displacement by more than 70% in many cases.