Graphene oxide is a type of carbon-based nanomaterial that has received substantial attention for use in cement-based composites. In the presence of graphene oxide, the hydration kinetics of tricalcium aluminate-containing cement and tricalcium aluminate-free cement were investigated using quasi-isothermal calorimetry. Graphene oxide water dispersion with a 4 mg/ml concentration and distilled water were used for the paste production. Two reference pastes were produced by mixing distilled water with tricalcium aluminate-containing and tricalcium aluminate-free cement at an initial water-to-cement mass ratio of 0.42. Graphene oxide was incorporated at a content of 0.09 % by weight of the cement in the recipe of two reference pastes. The desired amount of graphene oxide water dispersion was taken and adjusted to keep the total amount of water constant. The results obtained show that graphene oxide promotes tricalcium aluminate-containing cement hydration compared to tricalcium aluminate-free cement.