Chemical vapor deposited 3C‐SiC films were micromachined into free standing cantilevers and their anelastic and elastic properties were determined by a vibrating reed technique. Despite a high density of defects, epitaxial 3C‐SiC exhibits extremely high mechanicalQwhich is essential for resonator sensors and actuators. An anelastic relaxation peak was found with an associated activation energy of 0.94 eV. Doping caused splitting of this peak. The mechanism of the mechanical relaxation peak is discussed in relation to defect movement under stress. Young’s modulus of epitaxial undoped 3C‐SiC was found to be 694 GPa,p‐doping reduced it to 474 Gpa. ©1995 American Institute of Physics.