Calcium carbide residue (CCR) is a common industrial by-product produced by acetylene gas manufacturing. It contains useful compounds like calcium hydroxide and calcium carbonate, yet the present Indian practice is to dump it as waste in open land or landfills. This paper addresses the applicability of CCR in improving the strength of marine clay. The use of CCR for low-strength soil stabilisation is favourable because of its environmental friendliness compared to other stabilisers, as well as its efficiency and excellent performance. Marine clay possesses very low shear strength and high plasticity index and is rich in silica (SiO2) followed by aluminium oxide (Al2O3) and iron oxide (Fe2O3). When treated with CCR in the presence of water, the soil particles bind together forming a cementitious agent, improving the overall strength and stiffness of the clay. Depending upon the variation of CCR dosages, the mechanical strength of the treated samples was examined using tensile and compressive strength tests. The samples were prepared at optimum moisture content and maximum dry density and sheared at a loading rate of 1 mm per minute. It is observed that increasing the CCR content increases the unconfined compressive strength of the treated samples. The results show that 4% to 6% CCR addition was sufficient due to the effects of pozzolanic material and fabric anisotropy. CCR-treated soil has an unconfined compressive strength of more than 700 kPa which is comparable to results obtained when treated with cement and can therefore be used as a subbase in pavement construction and cementitious material for soil improvement.