Abstract: Tensile strength is an important index to describe the mechanical properties of loess and the basis for studying the characteristics of loess tensile failure. In this paper, using tensile instrument developed independently for intact loess with large section, several uniaxial tensile tests were conducted on L5 loess in Jingyang County, Shaanxi Province. The tensile stress-strain characteristics and tensile strength of the samples under different water contents were measured, and compared with the result obtained by the conventional triaxial shear test. The results show that the strength of loess at low water content is high, the tensile stress increases linearly with the increment of tensile strain and the failure exhibits brittle. The tensile strength of loess at high water content is low, the tensile stress increases nonlinearly with the increment of tensile strain, and the failure shows some plasticity. The relationship between the tensile strength and the water content shows exponential decline. Compared with the conventional triaxial test results, the tensile test results are smaller and closer to the actual situation, and a certain linear relationship between the two.