The use of geotextile as reinforcing materials in soil structures has become widespread throughout the world. Geotextile reinforcement has been used in retaining walls, roadbed, embankment stabilization and especially reinforcement of soft foundation, and so on, In the past, however, its design and construction have been performed empirically. In this study, laboratory model tests were carried out in order to investigate the effects of geotextile rein- forcement on vertical and horizontal displacement and other characteristics in soft founda- tions. The experiments were executed in eight treatments ;no geotextile between embank - ment and subsoils, and seven geotextiles with different tensile strength. And such factors as the loading conditions, the tensile strength of geotextiles, the ingredient of geotextiles and the elapsed time were investigate in this study. And the analytical method were executed in order to study the stress and behavior of geotextile - reinforced soil structure by the nonlinear elasto - plastic finite element model. The following conclusions were drawn from this study. 1. Geotextile reinforcement reduced the effects of banking loads on subsoils more effectively with the increase of their tensile strength. 2. As the tensile strength of geotextiles was increase, the rate of the initial vertical disp - lacements of loading plate was reduced inverse proportional to loads, Rowever, the effect of loading was reduced when the loads exceed a certain limits, 3. The effect of reinforcement of nonwoven geotextile was 1.5-4.5 times larger than that of the woven geotextile with equivalent tensile strength. 4. The increased bearing capacity and the reduced settlement are proportioned as the tensile strength of geotextile. 5. The settlement at the long time loading were developed almost all, were completed after 10 days and the additional settlement were not developed since then. 6. The nonlinear elasto - plastic finite element method are accurate to predict the stresses and behayior of geotextile - reinforced soil structures.