Lots of shallow landslides in residual soil slopes are triggered by rainfall every year in Southeastern coastal area of China. Prediction of the rainfall-induced landslides is a hot research topic. Rainfall intensity-duration curve(I-D curve for short) is used commonly by previous researches to predict the landslide induced by rainfall. Firstly

the geological conditions of residual soil slopes and climate condition in Southeastern coastal areas of China are presented. Then the cross-sections and engineering properties of the residual soil slopes are presented. A finite element software

Geo-Studio

is used to study the effects of the initial moisture condition

shear strength

saturated permeability coefficient

slope angle

thickness of residual soil layer and rainfall pattern on I-D curve. Results from the parametric analyses show that shear strength

slope angle

saturated permeability coefficient and rainfall pattern influence the I-D curve significantly. With a decrease in shear strength

an increase in saturated permeability coefficient or an increase in slope angle

the rainfall duration causing a slope failure shows a decreasing trend. The influence of initial moisture condition on I-D curve is significant when rainfall intensity is lower. When rainfall intensity is larger than saturated permeability coefficient of the residual soil layer

the infiltration capacity is controlled by permeability coefficient; the rainfall duration causing a slope failure doesn’t change with the increasing of rainfall intensity. The research results can provide a basis for the application of I-D curve to predicting rainfall-induced landslides in residual soil slope in Southeastern coastal areas of China.