A power model of a CNC machine tool feed system is proposed based on analyzing the power characteristic of each component in the CNC machine tool feed system. And the tarepower characteristic and its dominant affecting factors are analyzed by using the power model. The analysis results show that the tarepower of feed system is a monotone increasing quadratic function in term of the feed speed. Meanwhile, the feed speed and load mass both affect tarepower, but the influence of load mass is minuteness. Some experiments are conducted on a 3-axis CNC milling and the experimental results justify the theoretical analysis.