Soils in nature are subjected to climate change and undergo periodical wetting-drying(W-D)cycles,which result in the development of desiccation cracks in soil.The presence of cracks can significantly alter soil hydro-mechanical behavior.In this investigation,a series of unconfined compression tests were conducted on unsaturated remolded clayey soil which was subjected to three W-D cycles.The influences of drying process and W-D cycles on unconfined compressive strength(UCS)were analyzed and discussed.Moreover,the W-D cycles induced desiccation cracks in soil were quantified using image processing technique.The evolution of crack parameters such as surfacecrack ratio,average crack width,total crack length and number of crack segmentwith decreasing water content during each drying path were quantified,and their effects on UCS were also discussed.The results show that the UCS,initial stiffness,and fracture brittleness increase with decreasing water content during dying path.The W-D cycles do not influence soil water retention characteristics,but give rise to significant reduction of soil strength.The reduction magnitude of strength increases with decreasing water content,and it is strongly connected to the development of desiccation cracks.Generally,as soil is subjected to continuous drying,there is a competitive relationship between the contribution of suction to the strength and the reduction in the strength caused by cracks.It is also found that W-D cycles could result in cumulative volume shrinkage,decrease of initial stiffness,increase of ductility and strain at failure.