Abstract
When an atom moves in an optical cavity, the total momentum of the atom does not remain constant. We study a two-level atom moving slowly in an optical cavity, and give the time dependence of its mean momentum. It is found that when the initial momentum of the atom is larger than that of the photon, the mean momentum oscillates around a value less than the initial value. But, if the initial momentum is less than the momentum of the photon, the mean momentum of the atom is greater than its initial value in most cases.