College of Construction Engineering��Jilin University��Changchun 130026��China

With the increasing researches on geotechnical properties of the diesel contaminated soil (DCS)��the water content measured is indispensable part during the early period�� In this study��the relative error of water content measurement using the traditional method is as high as 20�� 78%��which is no longer suitable for contam- inated soil�� Through a series of tests to measure the loss coefficient of diesel in the drying time��the authors fi- nally proposed a modified calculation formula for test samples�� The results show that the maximum relative error calculated by using the modified formula is 0�� 96%��far lower than that of traditional formula��which can pro- vide accurate data for further study of diesel contaminated soil��