To evaluate the effect of trapped air bubbles in horizontal drains on discharge capacity, unsaturated discharge capacity tests are carried out for four types of drains selected according to the size of section as well as the shape of core. Unsaturated discharge capacities with the elapse of time, the increase of confining pressures, and hydraulic gradients are examined and are compared with saturated discharge capacities. It is found that the unsaturated discharge capacities at a hydraulic gradient of 0.01 decreased by 17%~80% due to the remained air bubbles in the drains compared with the saturated discharge capacities. It is caused by the fact that the horizontal direction of water flow is not consistent with the direction of movement of floating air bubbles in case of horizontal drains. Especially, far the drain with filament shaped core, discharge capacities decreased significantly due to the difficulty in removing air bubbles.