The effect of esterified starch as surface sizing agent for inkjet printing paper has been evaluated and compared with oxidized starch. Also the influence of various additives including cationic poly-DADMAC, stearic acrylic copolymer, calcium chloride, and GCC was examined. Results showed that starch ester gave higher ink density than oxidized starch. Addition of poly-DADMAC improved water fastness. In general, low molecular weight poly-DADMAC performed better than high molecular weight one, and it was attributed to the fact that it gave more uniform film forming characteristics in surface sizing. Use of styrene acrylic acid copolymer increased hydrophobicity of the paper surface, but it did not increase the ink density. Use of GCC and calcium chloride had only marginal effect on printing quality.