The retarding grinding aid(DE) which synthesized by Diethanolamine(DEA), Epichlorohydrin and sodium hydroxide was characterized by infra-red spectroscopy(FT-IR) and used for the production of Portland cement in this paper.The ground cements were tested for Blaine specific surface area and hydration heat.In addition,cement mortars were tested for the standard consistency, setting times and mechanical properties.The results showed that DE increased the specific surface area effectively and the cement mortars made with DE exhibited excellent mechanical properties.It was found that DE showed strong retarding effect and the rate of hydration heat of cements mixed with DE were slower than control group which without DE.Test results by XRD showed that the retarding effect mainly attributed to that the generated of Ca(OH)2 crystal was postponed by DE, which result in retarded the hydration of cement.