<p>The aim of the study is to investigate the compression and rebound characteristics of ferricrete expansive soils under cyclic loading and unloading. The presence of iron oxides in expansive soils was confirmed using microscanning technologies. The pore size distributions of the compacted samples and natural samples were analyzed by mercury intrusion porosimetry. Then, the effects of iron oxides on the compression and rebound characteristics of ferricrete expansive soil samples under cyclic loading and unloading were investigated. Compared with natural samples under the same initial conditions, the number of pores with a size of 10.0 μm is significantly reduced in the compacted sample, and the number of pores with a size of 1.0 μm is significantly increased. The effective dissipation σ_c′ of the compacted samples (56–489 kPa) is significantly larger than that of the natural samples (less than 300 kPa). Moreover, C_s/C_c (swell sensitivity) of the compacted soil exhibits a linear increase with increasing σ_c′, whereas the natural samples with high water content exhibit a nonlinear increase in swell sensitivity. Further swelling or compression of ferricrete expansive soil is inhibited by the iron oxide structure, and the swelling potential (high water content) or shrinkage potential (low water content) is regained only when the iron oxide structure is destroyed.</p>