Abstract: Tailings pond is a main source of mine hazards, so it is of utmost importance to choose a reasonable discharge and damming method for tailings pond management. Paste discharge is a brand new technology which has received its fast development recently, and it is especially popular among the mines for it merits, such as environment-friendly, water recovery, stable damming and so on. Starting with a series of soil mechanical experiments, the consolidation properties of tailings granule under different moisture content were studied. Compression coefficient and modulus were used to evaluate the compression performance of the tailings. And the relationship between deformation and time, void ratio and axial load during the compression & consolidation process were analyzed. The compression and consolidation process from the perspective of pore water were also investigated. Direct shear test has been conducted under consolidation and drainage condition, and the influencing factor and level of strength properties have been analyzed, which lay important foundation for the design of paste discharge technology and theoretical research of consolidation strength properties.