To improve the sharpness and the color yield of polyester fabrics with water-based pigment inkjet printing, surface modification was proceeded using b-cyclodextrin and citric acid. Fabrics were modified in the solution of b-cyclodextrin with the concentration 100g/L and citric acid 100g/L. The line width and image area of printed patterns, which could evaluate the printing performances, on the modified polyester fabric were decreased by 77% and 62% in comparison with that of the control,respectively. The color yield characterized by the K/S value was enhanced by 47%. Scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscope images confirmed that the capillary effect was decreased and the surface roughness was increased after the surface modification. The microscope images of the printed patterns clearly showed that the sharpness and the color yield were improved. Thereby, b-cyclodextrin modification offered a potential way to polyester pretreatment for pigment inkjet printing.