The continuous-time quantum walk (CTQW) provides a new approach to problems in graph theory. In this paper, the correlation between the CTQW and cliques in graphs is studied, and an approximate algorithm for the maximum clique problem (MCP) based on the CTQW is given. Via both numerical and theoretical analyses, it is found that the maximum clique is related to the transmission characteristics of the CTQW on some special graphs. For general graphs, the correlation is difficult to describe analytically. Therefore, the transmission characteristics of the CTQW are applied as a vertex selection criterion to a classical MCP algorithm and it is compared with the original algorithm. Numerous simulation on general graphs shows that the new algorithm is more efficient. Furthermore, an approximate MCP algorithm based on the CTQW is introduced, which only requires a very small number of searches with a high approximation ratio.