Abstract: The intense pulsed emission property of the large area carbon nanotube(CNT) cathode made by dipping method has been researched on the 2 MeV linear induction accelerator (LIA) injector. Results show that the CNT cathode has a capability of emitting an intense electron beam and achieving high emission current density under pulsed high voltage. The mechanism of electron emission in the CNT cathode is plasma-induced field emission. In the experiment, the maximal emission currents were 350 A on the sampling resistance ring at cathode and 167 A collected by the Faraday cup at anode. The highest emission current density at cathode was 19.4 A/cm2.