Carboxymethylated kraft lignin was successfully prepared in an aqueous medium by using sodium chloroacetate under alkaline conditions. Sodium chloroacetate could promote carboxymethylation effectively by introducing carboxylate group on the aromatic ring (para position) of lignin. The FTIR, NMR and TGA analyses confirmed the addition of carboxylate group to the OH of phenolic group of lignin. The H NMR analysis also confirmed the production of glycolic acid as a by-product in the carboxymethylation of kraft lignin. Carboxymethylated lignin with the highest carboxylate group and charge density was obtained under the conditions of 1.5 M NaOH concentration, 3 mol/mol of SCA/lignin ratio at 40 °C, 4 h and 16.7 g/L lignin concentration. The molecular weight analysis also confirmed an insignificant increase in the molecular weight of lignin after the carboxymethylation. The solubility of lignin was found to be pH dependent in that kraft lignin was insoluble at a pH below 10, whereas the carboxymethylated lignin was soluble at a pH higher than 5. The dispersion studies suggested that carboxymethylated lignin was an effective dispersant for a clay suspension. The results depicted that water soluble kraft lig- nin with a relatively high charge density and low molecular weight can be obtained via carboxymethylation. The application of carboxymethylated lignin as a dispersant for various ore suspensions of the mining industry as well as cement and con- crete admixtures will be assessed in future.