Abstract: The paper was aimed at investigating the possibility of using polyacrylate and polymaleate in the pad dyeing of cotton fabrics with reactive dyes in place of Na_2SO_4 as dyeing promoter.For this purpose,K/S values,color fastness and strength of the dyed cotton samples were measured and contrasted.The feasibility and dyeing promotion mechanism of polycarboxylates in the pad dyeing were also discussed.The results showed that when dosage of polycarboxylate is(50 g/L,) the K/S value,fastness properties and strength of the dyed fabric are comparable to those with Na_2SO_4 as dyeing promoter.