The accused, Ravindra Maharu Khairnar, a resident of Patane village in Malegaon taluka of the district, was a habitual drinker and he and his mother - Sagunabai Maharu Khairnar (65) - had frequent quarrels over his habit, they said.
On Sunday, Ravindra demanded money from his mother to buy liquor.
When she refused, the accused, in a fit of anger, throttled her to death when she was asleep, police said.
The postmortem report of the body yesterday revealed that she died of strangulation.