An analytical and experimental study has been conducted to determine the optimal charging mass of working fluid for the maximum heat transport capacity of heat pipe with axially grooved wick. When the heat pipe is operated in a steady state, the liquid-vapor meniscus recession of working fluid to the bottom of groove is occurred in the evaporator region. In this work, the optimal charging mass of working fluid was obtained by considering the meniscus recession from the axial variation of capillary pressure, the radius of curvature and wetting angle of meniscus of liquid-vapor interface. Experimental results were also obtained by varying the charging mass of working fluid within a heat pipe, and presented for the trend of maximum heat transport capacity corresponding to the operating temperature and the elevation of heat pipe. Finally, the analytical results of the optimal charging mass of working fluid were compared with those from the experiment, both of which were in good agreement with each other.