Abstract: By indoor experiments about the silt in the Yellow River Delta, the characteristics of the silt’s preconsolidation pressure were studied from points of soil genesis, structure and component, and sedimentary environment. The studies show that, the silt in the Yellow River Delta, as a special regional soil, has a different trend of the preconsolidation from the traditional theory. And the preconsolidation of silt is most constrained by soil genesis, structure and component, and is affected by the overlying pressure in little degree.

Key words: silt, preconsolidation pressure, compression curve, structural strength, Yellow River Delta, silt, preconsolidation pressure, compression curve, structural strength