This paper presents an experimental study on the influence of initial water content on unsaturated shear strength of compacted bentonite. Isotropic loading and triaxial shear tests were conducted on compacted GaoMiaoZi (GMZ) bentonite specimens with different initial water contents. Isotropic loading test and triaxial shear test results show that the compression index increases and yield stress decreases with increasing water content, while the swelling index stays constant. For normally consolidated and lightly overconsolidated bentonite, unsaturated shear strength can be described by the critical state line. For highly overconsolidated bentonite, unsaturated shear strength can be described by the Hvorslev surface. The critical state line and Hvorslev surface are found to be linear for the specimens with different water contents. The critical state stress ratio and the Hvorslev surface parameters are found to decrease with an increase in water content of the bentonite studied.