In order to clarify the influence of shear rate on shear strength of expanded polystyrene (EPS) beads light weight soil, the shear strength characteristics of remolded soil and light weight soil with different mixing ratios at shear rates of 0.02, 0.1, 0.2, 0.8 and 2.4 mm/min are studied by direct shear tests. The results show that there are two types of relation curves between shear stress and shear displacement for light weight soil, which are strain hardening and strain softening, and they are subject to EPS beads mixing ratio, cement mixing ratio and normal stress. The type of shear stress-shear displacement relation curves of remolded soil is strain hardening. The higher the shear rate, the less time it takes for the samples to reach shear failure or plastic flow stage. Under different shear rates, the shear strength envelopes of light weight soil are mostly broken line type, which are similar to those of the conventional structural soil. Mixing ratio has a decisive influence on the shear strength of EPS beads light weight soil, because it is also a kind of structural soil. Its shear strength, cohesion and internal friction angle increase with the increase of cement mixing ratio and the decrease of EPS beads mixing ratio. The shear rate has little effect on the shear strength, cohesion and internal friction angle of the light weight soil, but has a great influence on the remolded soil. With the increase of shear rate, the shear strength, cohesion and internal friction angle of the light weight soil only change slightly, and there are no significant change laws; whereas those of the remolded soil decrease gradually.