Characterization of concrete behavior needs to know mechanical properties of the two phases constituting them : mortar and aggregates. Nevertheless this bi-phasic approach reaches its limits when concrete leaves the elastic domain. At that stage and according to several studies, phenomena which occur at the interface between mortar and aggregates, or in mortar between cement paste and aggregates, must be taken into account. If the occurence of an Interfacial Transition Zone (ITZ), with weak mechanical properties in regard to the two others surrounding them is well knwon, the modeling of this third phase is not settled yet. This study focus on the characterization of the adhesion at interface between cement paste and aggregates. A mortar compounded by two limestone aggregates binded by a cement paste is considered, and tensile tests are performed on a sample of this composite. Based on these experimental results, a numerical study is developed in order to see influence of interface quality in tensile strength. For thar mortar is modeled by finite elements with a cohesive zone model at the interface, substituting ITZ. With the cohesive zone model used, coupling friction and adhesion at the interface, three parameters have to be fitted : normal and tangential stiffness, and decohesion energy. A strong correlation is found between these parameters and tensile strength, but numerical results show also low values of stiffness and decohesion energy at interface. This result could be explained by a partial adhesion between mortar and cement paste in the sample.