A search for a heavy gauge boson W' has been conducted by the CMS experiment at the LHC in the decay channel with an electron and large transverse energy imbalance E(T)(miss), using proton-proton collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36 pb(-1). No excess above standard model expectations is seen in the transverse mass distribution of the electron-E(T)(miss) system. Assuming standard-model-like couplings and decay branching fractions, a W' boson with a mass less than 1.36 TeV/c(2) is excluded at 95% confidence level. (C) 2011 CERN. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.