In this study, anhydrous sodium carbonate is used as a catalyst to hydrolyze animal glue for core-making preparation. The structural characteristics and thermal properties of animal glue binder treated by anhydrous sodium carbonate are studied by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, gel permeation chromatography, and thermogravimetric analysis. The results show that animal glue binder treated by the anhydrous sodium carbonate has a higher tensile strength and a lower viscosity than those of untreated ones. The most effective hydrolysis process is the following. The amount of anhydrous sodium carbonate is 3 wt% to animal glue, the ratio of water to binder is 140:100, and the hydrolysis reaction should be performed at 50 degrees C for a reaction time of 60min. The final tensile strength of binder reaches 2.67MPa and the viscosity value is 1000mPas.