Based on mechanical properties of the special soil layers in Yellow River Delta

with the horizontal acceleration time path of Tianjin seismic wave taken as the input seismic wave

numerical analysis is carried out on seismic response of the soil layers in the depth range of 20 m in Yellow River Delta. Three transcendental probabilities

i.e. 3 percent

10 percent and 63 percent

are considered to study changes of pore water pressure and dynamic shear stress

which are compared with those obtained in laboratory dynamic triaxial tests to evaluate liquefaction potential of the soil layers. Research results show that under the transcendental probability of 3 percent

most of the soil layers will fail; under 10 percent

only a few will; and under 63 percent

most will not. Evaluation results obtained with failure dynamic shear stress ratio coincide with those obtained with pore water pressure ratio.