Both cracks in clay liner and the complex composition of landfill leachate might have effects on the hydraulic conductivity of a compacted clay liner. In this study, the hydraulic conductivities of natural clay and bentonite-modified clay with and without desiccation cracks were measured, respectively, using three types of liquids as permeating liquid: 2 500 mg/L acetic acid solution, 0.5 mol/L Ca Cl2 solution, and tap water. When tap water was adopted as the permeating liquid, desiccation cracks resulted in increases in the average value of hydraulic conductivity: a 25-fold increase for the natural clay and a 5.7-fold increase for the bentonite-modified clay. It was also found out that the strong selfhealing capability of bentonite helped to reduce the adverse impact of cracks on hydraulic performance. In contrast to tap water, simulated leachates(acetic acid and Ca Cl2solutions) show no adverse effect on the hydraulic conductivities of natural and bentonite-modified clays. It is concluded that desiccation cracks and bentonite have more significant effects on hydraulic performance than simulated leachates. Both cracks in clay liner and the complex composition of landfill leachate might have effects on the hydraulic conductivity of a compacted clay liner. In this study, the hydraulic conductivities of natural clay and bentonite-modified clay with and without desiccation cracks were measured, respectively, using three types of liquids as permeating liquid: 2 500 mg / L acetic acid solution, 0.5 mol / L CaCl 2 solution, and tap water. When tap water was adopted as the permeating liquid, desiccation cracks resulted in increases in the average value of hydraulic conductivity: a 25-fold increase for the natural clay and a 5.7-fold increase for the bentonite-modified clay. It was also found out that the strong selfhealing capability of bentonite helped to reduce the adverse impact of cracks on hydraulic performance. contrast to tap water, simulated leachates (acetic acid and Ca Cl 2 solutions) show no adverse effect on the hydraulic conductivities of natural and bentonite-modified clays. It is conc luded that desiccation cracks and bentonite have more significant effects on hydraulic performance than simulated leachates.