In the present work, TiO2 nanoparticles and CaCO3 nanoparticles were employed as additive pigments to modify theproperties of conventional paper coatings.A series of paper coating formulations were designed and fabricated, with a focus on the effect of nanoparticle pigments on the rheological behavior of paper coatings.Furthermore, the role of corresponding factors involving solid content, binder, co-binder and dispersant addition levels was also systematically studied. Steady shear rheological measurements revealed that the  as-obtained coating samples exhibited an obvious shear-thinning behavior over a range of shear rates from 0 to 500 s(-1). At a given shear rate lower than 10 s(-1), the coating viscosity had a tendency to go on rising as the addition level of nanoparticle pigments increased. Solid content, starch latex and hydroxyethyl cellulose addition levels were found to exert a significant influence on the coating viscosity. Herschel-Buckley model was employed to fit the experimental rheological data of  various paper coating formulations. Dynamic oscillatory rheological measurements gave a clear indication that the storage modulus was much higher than the loss modulus, indicating the solid-like elastic behavior of the obtained coatings.Moreover, it was apparent that the paper coatings underwent a marked increase in viscoelasticity with the increased nanoparticle pigments.