The recipes and properties of tung oil lime putty were investigated by means of scanning electron microscope(SEM), X ray diffractometry(XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR). The results show that the putty prepared with tung oil and Ca(OH)2 has the best properties. Compared with the common lime mortar, the 90 days compressive strength and shear strength of the tung oil Ca(OH)2 putty increase by 72% and 245% respectively and the water absorption coefficient reduces to 1/620 of that of the common lime mortar. The excellent performance of the tung oil Ca(OH)2 putty can be explained by the strong ability to cure of tung oil and the dense microstructure of the tung oil Ca(OH)2 putty.