This paper presents shear characteristics of a ground improved by sand piles. The sand piles have different length and diameter depending on the depth of a clayey layer. A series of CU triaxial compression tests are carried out on specimens covered with/without soft material which is similar to geotextile. The results show that the shear strength and stress ration increase as the length and the diameter of the sand pile increase. In addition, covering the specimen with the soft material appears to affect those characteristics as well. The increase of cohesion seems to be more remarkable compared to internal frictional angle.