Loess and laterite distributed widely in the northern and southern China cannot be directly used as the natural barrier to isolate the solid waste because of their high hydraulic conductivity. In this paper, they are enhanced by bentonite to improve their hydraulic performance. The impact of bentonite content and water content on compressive strength of the compacted soil was investigated. The effects of bentonite content, water content, dry density and hydraulic gradient on the hydraulic conductivity were studied in detail. For the laterite and the laterite with 8% of bentonite, the experimental results of hydraulic conductivity can be applied in the engineering design. However, for the loess and the bentonite enhanced loess, those of hydraulic conductivity can not be directly applied in the engineering design because their hydraulic performance does not comply with the Darcy's law. These experimental results have to be carefully modified before application.