Lateritic soils have been found to be widely distributed in Taiwan and they cover almost 60 % of all the usable hillsides and terraces. Due to the requirements of hillside development and the relevant engineering design for unsaturated soil slopes, this study aims at studying the unsaturated properties of the lateritic soils of Linkou Terrace. The unsaturated engineering properties included the soil-water characteristic curve, matric suction, and undrained shear strength. In addition, a commercially available software is also used to back analyze the laboratory results. The theoretical formulations for estimating the soil-water characteristic curve and unsaturated permeability, which may be useful to design engineer analyzing lateritic soil slopes, are then suggested.
