Abstract:The water absorption of expanded shale with hydrophobic treatment could be reduced remarkedly, which is good for improving performance of lightweight aggregate concrete. Compared with the commercial hydrophobic solutions and waterproof paints, the solution ZH has the best effect on reducing the water absorption of expanded shale. Further experimental results show that the combination of the solution ZH and G is more effective than the solution ZH to reduce the water absorption of expanded shale after 6 h or longer. It is very simple and cost worthy to use the solution ZH or the combination of solutions ZH and G to treat the expanded shale.