The impact damage that occurred in silicon carbide plates was investigated by projectile impact tests. Target plates of silicon carbide with two different thicknesses were impacted by three kinds of projectiles with various speeds ranging from 30 m/s to 500 m/s. Projectiles were 5 mmφ and 3 mmφ steel spheres and 5mmφ silicon carbide spheres. Various modes of damage, such as indentation concave, ring and cone cracks, radial and median cracks, lateral cracks, spalling and formation of a percussion cone were observed. The relationship between the mode of damage and the speed or the kinetic energy of the projectile was investigated. The damage caused by the impact load of the present study was very similar to that caused by quasi-static point indentation load. It was also observed that the outermost diameter of ring cracks formulated in the impacted SiC plate was well calculated by the elastic Hertz's impact theory or a modification of it including the effect of the plastic deformation of projectiles.