In this work, a polycarboxylate comb-like polymer was used as grinding aid for ceramic slurry, and the effect of addition of this grinding aid on ceramic process property was highlighted. The grinding efficiency of the polycarboxylate grinding aid (PG) in terms of the particle size distribution and specific surface of unit volume of the ceramic slurry being ground were investigated. Consequently, the PG that was synthesized via free radical polymerization under the condition of an APEG/AA/MA molar ratio of 0.3: 1: 1, an initiator dosage of 5 wt%, and a reaction time of 6 h at 90 degrees C, provided better grinding efficiency than those of the triethanolamine and other commercial grinding aids. Specifically, with a dosage of 0.21% and 2 h of grinding, the d(97) and d(50) of ceramic slurry decreased from 13.956 mu m and 2.043 mu m to 3.739 mu m and 0.561 mu m, respectively. The cumulative distribution, frequency distribution and SEM results exhibited a uniform particle size distribution for ceramic ground with PG-C. Furthermore, the sintering experiment indicated that a lower processing temperature was capable of producing ultrafine ceramic. These improvements indicated the potential application of the PG as an efficiency ceramic grinding aid, which further facilitating the preparation of uniform ultrafine slurry by a sand mill. (C) 2019 The Society of Powder Technology Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. and The Society of Powder Technology Japan. All rights reserved.