The mechanism of expansion of mortars and pastes with limestone filler due to external sulfate attack was studied.Mortars and pastes made at water to solid ratios of 0.45, 0.5, 0.6 from Portland Cement (OPC) with 0%, 20% or 30% (w/w) limestone filler (LF) were cured in a 95±1% RH moist room at 20±1 ℃ for 14 or 28 days. They subsequently were immersed in 5% Na2SO4(0.35 M) solution at ambient temperature (1～35 ℃). The expansion of the specimens was measured every month, and selected samples were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results indicate that mortars with 20% LF show larger expansion than that of OPC mortars at up to 9 months of exposure,and the amount of gypsum in both mortars and pastes with LF is much more than that in mortars and pastes without LF. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that the formation of massive gypsum leads to the lager expansion of the mortars and pastes containing 20% LF. These behaviors may be explained by the changes in hydration products due to the addition of LF.