Carboxyl methyl cellulose (CMC) was mixed into mortar to improve the waterretention performance of mortar, the quality of floated coat of aerated concrete became better. The consistency and compression strength of mortar with CMC were studied. The water absorption was studied with the method of filter paper. The micro mechanism was researched with X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy(SEM). The experimental results show the water-holding performance of mortar with CMC is largely improved and it is better when the mixed amount is about 1.5%; the compression strength had a descending trend with the increase of CMC; CMC reacted with calcium hydroxide(CH) into the deposition of calcium carboxyl methyl cellulose.