In this paper, a new mesogenic moiety was synthesized and characterized by IR, NMR, and MS. The mesogenic moiety-linked ethyl cellulose derivative was prepared by reaction of 4-methyloxyphenyl-4-oxyaceticacid benzoate with ethyl cellulose [EC, degree of substitution (DS) 2.1] through esterification. The polymer was characterized by IR, NMR, DSC, and hot-stage coupled polarizing microscopy. The DS of mesogenic unit is 0.49. The mesogenic moiety-linked ethyl cellulose derivative showed a thermotropic liquid crystalline behavior.