In order to realize the high value utilization of gold tailings, the ceramic facing brick was prepared by pressureless firing method with gold tailings as the main raw material. The effects of gold tailings addition on phase composition, microstructure and properties were investigated. The results reveal that the sample with 70% (mass fraction) gold tailings fired at 1 100 ℃ has the optimal bending strength of 73.42 MPa, water absorption of 0.10%, porosity of 0.25%, bulk density of 2.46 g/cm3 and firing shrinkage of 8.64%. The performance meets the requirements of Chinese national standard GB/T 4100-2015 “Ceramic tiles”. The phases of the samples are anorthite, quartz, leucite and hematite. The glaze surface of the facing brick is smooth with uniform color, and the binding property between the body and glaze of the facing brick is excellent.