tTwo different thermoplastic starches (TPS), namely maleic anhydride grafted starch (MA-g-starch) andepoxidized cardanol grafted starch (Epicard-g-starch), were successfully prepared by chemical modifica-tion without the addition of any plasticizer. The structure and properties were characterized by nuclearmagnetic resonance (NMR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), hot press testing, scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and contact angle meter, respectively. Results from XRD showed that the highly crystalline struc-ture of native starch was destroyed after modification. Continuous phase was obtained from both of thechemically modified starches after hot pressing at 130◦C, indicating that they have good thermoplastic-ity. Subsequently, they were melt-blended with PLA. It was found that the Epicard-g-starch had a muchfiner dispersed phase size than MA-g-starch in PLA matrix due to its better hydrophobicity. As a result, themechanical properties of PLA/Epicard-g-starch blend were superior to those of PLA/MA-g-starch blend.