Soil mechanics is an important basic course of civil engineering. The present state of soil mechanics teaching is discussed. The main problem is that the knowledge system of the course falls behind the needs of talent training. Another problem is the contradiction between limited periods and huge contents. Task-driven teaching methods is provided in soil mechanics to improve students’ learning interest and teaching efficiency.Its basic principles are introduced. The implementation processes of the method are presented form four aspects, including task plan, task assignment, task guidance and task assessment.