Abstract <p>The work proposes methods for producing glassy carbon foams with increased compressive strength. The influence of the gas environment during carbonization on the structural characteristics of glassy carbon foams was shown. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to analyze the influence of the gas environment during carbonization and coating. The compressive strength was determined by stress-strain tests. It has been shown that when the carbonization process is carried out in an inert environment, the defectiveness of the structure of glassy carbon foams is lower compared to materials obtained in a reducing environment. The compressive strength of samples that underwent carbonization in an inert and reducing environment is 0.57–0.83 and 0.27–0.55 MPa, respectively. It has been established that the application of a low-temperature pyrocarbon coating using the CVI method leads to an increase in the compressive strength of glassy carbon foams that have undergone carbonization in an inert environment to values of 0.91–1.8 MPa.</p>