Abstract: We conducted a series of shear tests to understand the shear properties of the chlorine saline soil by varying the parameters including the initial moisture content,the dead load,and the amplitude and frequency of the normal cyclic load. The results indicate that the moisture content has a significant effect on the residual shear strength. A few tiny cracks appear at the interface zone as moisture content is close to the optimum value. For the moisture content below the optimum value,several small cracks appear due to the shear dilation at the early stage and then disappear gradually at the residual stage. We observed the cracks between the crumbling soil when the moisture content was above the optimum value. Moreover,the existing cracks expand dramatically due to the cyclic loading,which might be the main reason for the differential settlement of the chloride saline soil foundation. The low-frequency normal force only decreases the residual strength,while the high frequency increases both peak and residual strength. Meanwhile,we observed that there was a time difference between the shear stress and normal stress due to the particle rearrangement. The control parameters of the time difference are particle size and distribution.