The foundation soil of inland port is mostly unsaturated soil under the action of underground runoff and rainfall infiltration，and its soil water characteristics affect the stability of port foundation. Taking the unsaturated cohesive foundation soil of Huaibei port in Anhui Province as the research object，we carry out the soil-water characteristic curve（SWCC）tests under different initial moisture content，initial dry density，vertical stress and dry wet cycles. The results show that the effects of initial dry density and vertical stress on SWCC of unsaturated cohesive foundation soil are similar，and they have a greater impact on air intake value，initial gas value，dehumidification rate，moisture absorption rate and residual saturation；the effect of initial water content on soil dehumidification and moisture absorption rate is small，and with the increase of initial water content，air intake value，gas absorption value and residual saturation increase；with the increase of dry wet cycle，the effect of initial water content on SWCC of unsaturated cohesive foundation soil increases the attenuation of the inlet and outlet values gradually weakened with the increase of the pressure. Combined with the soil-water characteristics of foundation soil，we modify several commonly used SWCC models to simulate SWCC under different working conditions，and obtain the recommended model for unsaturated cohesive foundation soil of Huaibei port by scoring. The research results may serve as reference for the study of soil-water characteristics of unsaturated cohesive foundation soil and stability of port foundation under different working conditions.