Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium) has important ornamental and economic value. Drought reduces its yield and quality, resulting in great economic losses. Digging up drought-resistant genes in chrysanthemum and breeding drought-tolerant varieties is one of the keys to solving the above problems. MYB transcription factors are involved in plant growth and development and response to abiotic stress. This study involved the heterologous expression of the CmMYB15-like gene from chrysanthemum in Arabidopsis, followed by the observation of phenotypic changes under drought stress. The investigation of drought resistance function of this gene included measurement of relative water content (RWC), malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, soluble sugars (SS), superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and lignin content. The results showed that overexpression of CmMYB15-like increased RWC and SS contents and SOD activity, decreased MDA content, and increased taproot length and lateral root number after drought stress, compared with the wild type. In addition, the lignin synthesis-related genes such as AtPAL2, AtPAL4 and At4CL1 were up-regulated, and the lignin content was higher than that in the wild type. These results indicate that CmMYB15-like is involved in the drought stress response of Arabidopsis Thaliana, which provides a theoretical basis for the selection of drought-resistant gene resources and breeding of chrysanthemum cultivars.