This paper studies the swelling and strength characteristics of unimproved and improved expansive soils in terms of the swell potential, swelling pressure, rate of secondary swelling, unconfined compressive strength and California bearing ratio (CBR). The admixtures used in this study are locally available cement and fly ash. The soils used in this study were taken from the Mae Moh power plant, Lampang Province, in northern Thailand. A conventional consolidation test apparatus was used to determine the swelling of the soil specimen. The optimum admixture contents are determined to efficiently reduce the swelling of unimproved soil. The rate of secondary swelling for unimproved soil is within the range of highly plastic montmorillonite clay, whereas the specimens improved with optimum admixture contents can be classified as non-swelling kaolinite. A soil type affects the swelling pressure. Expansive soil improvement with fly ash alone can reduce swelling percentage but cannot enhance the unconfined compressive strength and CBR. The strength and swelling characteristics can be predicted well by the swelling percentage in this study.