A high performance and environmentfriendly brake pad was developed for a bus disc brake,with cashew oil modified phenolic resin as matrix,aramid pulp,mineral fiber and paper fiber as reinforcing material,porous and good toughness and green harmless materials as fillers.The effects of the hardness of friction plate on brake noise was studied experimentally.The result shows that the hardness of friction plate has a significant influence on brake noise,the lower the hardness of friction plate,the less likely to occur brake noise.The friction material formula was optimized by using the two regression response surface regression model.The friction performance test,brake noise test and road test of the brake pad made by the optimized formula were carried out.The results show that the friction coefficient of the brake pad developed has higher stability,the wear rate is low,and there is no braking noise.The average service life of the brake pad developed is improved significantly,the service life is increased by about 59% for the one in front wheel,and about 74% for the one in rear wheel,compared with the auxiliary brake pad.