Starch, as a green renewable material has great application potential in building materials. Especially in recent years, many starch based chemical functional materials had been applied in building materials and exhibited excellent performance. Research progress of starch based chemical functional materials using as viscosity modifying agent, water reducing agent, temperature rise inhibitor and superabsorbent materials, and their preparation methods, mechanism of function and application effects were summarized. Moreover, the future research direction in this field was also discussed.