Abstract: The compacting effects caused by static piling in saturated soft clay ground may have severe influence on engineering environment (the driven soils around the pile and the near buildings). The research history dates back to the early 1950's. However, no satisfactory results have been obtained because of the complexities of the problem. In this paper, a brief summary of the methods and conclusions reached by former researchers is presented. Several mechanical problems conceding the compacting effect are studied in detail. Appropriate methods for further studying are proposed