In an artificial island construction project based on the large-scale marine reclamation land,the soil settlement is the most important factor affecting the later safe operation of the whole field.To analyze the factors of the soil settlement in a marine reclamation project,the SEM (scanning electron microscopy) method of the soil microstructural analysis method is used to test and study six soil samples such as the representative silt,mucky silty clay,silty clay and clay in the field.The structural characteristics of soil settlement are obtained by observing the SEM charts at different depths.Combined with Terzaghi one-dimensional and Biot two-dimensional consolidation theory numerical calculation method,one-dimensional and two-dimensional creep models are established and the numerical results of two kinds of consolidation theories are compared to predict the settlement rule of the soil after completion of the project.The analysis results indicate that the micro-structural characteristics of the soil itself are the essential factors affecting the settlement quantity of the field.The settlement rule and trend of two numerical analysis methods are basically consistent.