Abstract：Many scholars have paid more and more attention to the landslide disasters occurring in the Three Gorges Reservoir region. It is a special characteristic that the slopes along reservoir are inevitably influenced by rise and fall of water level. A method to evaluate the slope stability by centrifugal test is introduced；and soil slope models considering geological conditions of the Three Gorges are constructed. Controlling of drawdown and charging of reservoir is implemented in the test，which makes it possible to simulate the whole process of instability of the slopes. Through the technique of digital photography，image processing and transducers measurement，a series of important test data are obtained，such as pore water pressure，displacement，failure surface and crack evolution in some typical regions. Moreover，analysis of deformation progress and failure mode are given as well. Results indicate that the deformation of soil slopes will perform pull-typed behavior in such water condition. However，the factor of water rise and drawdown gradually softening soil will lead to the strength reduction and therein induce large displacement. In addition，the slope cracks propagate and close alternately during the whole test；and failure surfaces are almost like polygonal lines. The centrifugal results can provide significant data for evaluating the failure mechanism of such landslides，which will provide useful information for the prevention and reinforcement measures in reservoir landslides.
