Abstract: In an attempt to use carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as the thickening agent for reactive dye printing , the properties of high substituted CMC such as the rheological behavior and printing performance were tested and compared with those of the traditional thickener sodium alginate. The research results demonstrated that high substituted CMC has the advantages of high yield of forming thickening agent and good stock stability. Owing to its rheological behavior, it is more suitable for fine pattern printing of hydrophilic textiles than sodium alginate, and the printed effect was comparable to that of sodium alginate. High substituted carboxyl methyl celluloses are good substitution for sodium alginate for reactive dye printing.