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In order to clarify the suction characteristics of unsaturated clay under different conditions of water and salt, taking soil in western Jilin province, China as the research object, the suctions (matrix suction and osmotic suction) of samples with different water content, salt type, and salt content were determined by filter paper method. The results indicate that salt type and content have insignificant influence on the matrix suction. With the increase of water content, the matrix suction decreases at different rates in different suction regimes. When water content is constant, the osmotic suction increases with the increase of salt content, and under the condition of a constant salt content, the osmotic suction first increases and then decreases with the increase of ion concentration of the pore water, and can reach tens of MPa. The concept of suction equilibrium water content is proposed. When water content of sample is higher than this value, the magnitude of osmotic suction will always be greater than that of matrix suction. This indicates the necessity to consider osmotic suction in the presence or change of salt in soil. The applicability of the traditional models of matrix suction and osmotic suction in the full suction range of clay is discussed, and it is found that the traditional models cannot make a full explanation to the variation in suction. Based on the experimental data, an improved van Genuchten matrix suction model and an osmotic suction model, transformed by the Planck blackbody radiation formula, are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]