It is of critical importance to understand the characteristics of papermaking additives and their reaction mechanisms to fully utilize the benefits they provide. Among the papermaking additives, retention aids play critical roles in improving productivity, product quality and process economy. Diverse research efforts to understand the reaction mechanisms between cationic polymers and anionic microparticles have been made since microparticle retention systems were introduced into the market. And it is most commonly accepted that flocs formed by the addition of cationic polymers are dispersed by shear force and the broken flocs are reflocculated instantly with the addition of microparticles. There are still many unanswered questions, however, on the reaction phenomena between cationic polymers and anionic microparticles. In this study, several cationic polymers including waxy maize starch, com starch and guar gum were used to investigate their retention efficiency when they were used along with anionic colloidal silica.