Abstract: A multi-purpose triaxial apparatus, that can strictly control the boundary force and apply the tensile or compressive force along vertical axis to the hollow cylinder specimens, has been used to study the properties of hydraulic fracturing for compacted cohesive soil under seepage force. The experimental results show that the failure of specimens will be either hydraulic fracturing or shearing plastic flow, it depends on the initial principal stress ratio. The experimental results are coincedent with the theorietcal values presented in this paper.