The continual reassessment method (CRM) provides a Bayesian estimation of the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) in phase I clinical trials. The CRM has been proposed as an alternative design of the standard design. The CRM has been modified to improve practical feasibility and, recently, the likelihood approach CRM has been proposed. In this paper we investigate the consistency and asymptotic normality of the modified likelihood approach CRM in which the maximum likelihood estimate is used instead of the posterior mean. Small-sample properties of the consistency is examined using complete enumeration. Both the asymptotic results and their small-sample properties show that the modified CRML outperforms the standard design.