Abstract：It is of great significance to realize the development rule of geological disasters for study of the viscosity of loess. Lots of shear relaxation tests on Malan loess are conducted；and a simple and practical method is introduced to measure the coefficient of viscosity of Malan loess. On the basis of a viscoelastic solid model with three parameters，the coefficient of viscosity is determined by the measured data obtained from the shear relaxation tests by means of the least squares curve-fitting method. The coefficients of viscosity of Malan loess with different water contents are achieved. The results indicate that，when the water content is 13%－35%，the coefficient of viscosity increases with the water content and the normal stress on Malan loess.
