Abstract： To better understand the bearing capacity and deformation characteristics under circular load, a series of compression tests with the same space were conducted on single geocell-reinforced sand samples of three different shapes(circular, rectangular, and hexagonal crosssections) and three different constraint conditions (under flexible confining, rigid confining and unconfined condition). The effects of these variables were investigated according to the pressuresettlement curves. FLAC3D(Three Dimensional Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua) was introduced to simulate the compression tests. The nephograms of single geocell-reinforced sand in different conditions were compared. The results show that the geocell can improve the strength of soil. Circular cells have the best effect on reinforced sand of the cells of all shapes. Confining can constrain the deformation of soil and reduce the horizontal displacement of single geocellreinforced sand. With the modulus of confined material increasing, the stiffness of the geocell-reinforced sand increases.