Fibre-reinforced composites are widely utilised in weight-sensitive engineering applications due to their superior structural stiffness and lightweight characteristics. In this study, the impact of embedding fibrous z-pins on the tensile and vibrational properties of co-cured glass/epoxy laminates was investigated through experimental methods. The fibrous pins were embedded at three different volume fractions (0.5%, 2.0% and 4.0%) to examine the failure behaviour of the laminated composites. The experimental findings revealed that the tensile strength and modulus of composite laminates decreased as the volume fraction of fibrous pins increased, which indicates stress concentration around the pins and potential fibre disruption. Specifically, the results of the tensile tests demonstrated that including 4.0 vol.% composite fibrous pins led to a reduction of 45.81% in the tensile strength of the composite laminate compared to unpinned laminates. Fracture analysis of the failed specimens indicated that the insertion of fibrous pins resulted in damage to the matrix material, fibre discontinuity, fibre distortion, the formation of resin-rich areas, and a decrease in the in-plane volume content of fibres. Moreover, the experimental modal analysis revealed that fibrous pin insertion reduced the structural stiffness of the laminated composites. Interestingly, the 4.0 vol.% fibrous pin-embedded samples exhibited higher modal damping due to the increased energy-dissipating behaviour of the laminated composites. The present study suggests that z-pin incorporation can be strategically employed to achieve a balance between stiffness and damping, potentially leading to composites optimised for specific noise reduction applications. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.