The aim of this study is to explore the effect of absorption coefficient on propulsion performance of the laser ablated ammonium dinitramide （ADN）-acetone based liquid propellant. ADN and absorbent were mixed with different proportions in the range of 0-80% and a proportional distance of 10% to form ADN-acetone based liquid propellants. The absorption coefficients of propellants with different proportions were measured and calculated using a near-infrared spectrometer. Under the laser energy of 60 mJ and liquid film thickness of 300 μm condition， the impulses generated by laser ablation of propellants with different proportions were measured using a high-precision torsion pendulum. Results show that the absorption coefficient decreased with the increase of ADN content. In addition， the impulse decreased after peaking at ADN content of 30%， but increased again at ADN content of 80% sharply. The decrease of impulse in the ADN content range of 30%-70% is mainly caused by the decrease of absorption coefficient which leads to the decrease of laser energy deposited by the propellant. The impulse increase at ADN content of 80% is caused by the propellant whose absorption coefficient approaches to 0 and constitutes a “water cannon target” with the container. After the container is ablated by the laser， the propellant will act as a constraint， and result in the increase of impulse.