Based on fractional Talbot effect, a kind of two-dimensional chessboard-like Talbot array illuminator was designed by using a pure phase grating. With Fresnel diffraction theory, the distribution of light field of a pure phase grating illuminated by a plane light wave was analyzed. The results of the analysis shows that two-dimensional chessboard-like Talbot array illuminator with a compression ratio of 2 can be obtained by using two step phase grating with phase modulation of(0,π/2). By binary optics technology, the phase grating was fabricated on an optical glass substrate. Under illumination of an expanded He–Ne laser, the chessboard-like high contrast bright and dark spots was obtained at the fractional Talbot distance and had efficiency of 83.2%. The experiment results agree well with the theoretical analysis. The results reported have high theoretical and practical value for the generation and application of array microbeam in the field of optical interconnection, optical communication and photoelectric hybrid processing.