根据c++编程语言中的Stroustrup:

你使用哪种风格取决于环境和品味。对于所有数据都是公共的类，我通常更喜欢使用struct。我认为这样的类“不是很合适的类型，只是数据结构”。

在功能上，除了public / private没有区别

引用c++ FAQ，

[7.8] What's the difference between the keywords struct and class? The members and base classes of a struct are public by default, while in class, they default to private. Note: you should make your base classes explicitly public, private, or protected, rather than relying on the defaults. Struct and class are otherwise functionally equivalent. OK, enough of that squeaky clean techno talk. Emotionally, most developers make a strong distinction between a class and a struct. A struct simply feels like an open pile of bits with very little in the way of encapsulation or functionality. A class feels like a living and responsible member of society with intelligent services, a strong encapsulation barrier, and a well defined interface. Since that's the connotation most people already have, you should probably use the struct keyword if you have a class that has very few methods and has public data (such things do exist in well designed systems!), but otherwise you should probably use the class keyword.

另一个主要区别是模板。据我所知，你可以在定义模板时使用类，但不能定义结构。

template<class T> // OK
template<struct T> // ERROR, struct not allowed here

规范里没有，没有。主要的区别在于程序员在2年内阅读你的代码时的期望。结构体通常被假定为POD。当您为定义对象以外的目的定义类型时，也会在模板元编程中使用结构。

其他答案提到了private/public默认值(但请注意，struct是类是struct;它们不是两个不同的项目，只是同一项目的两种定义方式)。

值得注意的是(特别是因为请求者提到“非托管”c++，所以很可能正在使用msvc++)，在某些情况下，如果一个类用class声明，然后用struct定义(或者可能相反)，visualc++会抱怨，尽管标准说这是完全合法的。

结构的成员默认为public，类的成员默认为private。 结构从另一个结构或类的默认继承是公共的。类从其他结构或类的默认继承是私有的。

class A{    
public:    
    int i;      
};

class A2:A{    
};

struct A3:A{    
};


struct abc{    
    int i;
};

struct abc2:abc{    
};

class abc3:abc{
};


int _tmain(int argc, _TCHAR* argv[])
{    
    abc2 objabc;
    objabc.i = 10;

    A3 ob;
    ob.i = 10;

    //A2 obja; //privately inherited
    //obja.i = 10;

    //abc3 obss;
    //obss.i = 10;
}

这是在VS2005上。