Abstract In this paper, the effects of asphalt-to-cement ratio (A/C) and water-to-cement ratio (W/C) on the elastic modulus E c of cement asphalt (CA) binder were studied through measuring the stress-strain curves and phase volume fractions of various CA binder specimens. The results illustrate that the CA binder with high asphalt content (A/C ⩾ 0.6) is a two-phase composite with complicated microstructure formed by both cement hydrates and asphalt agglomerates. The elastic modulus of CA binder decreases with the increase of A/C and W/C, especially A/C. A composite model that describes the CA binder in terms of the properties of asphalt and volume fractions of cement phases is suggested, and E c of CA binder can be predicted by this model according to A/C, W/C and properties of asphalt.