Determination of the in situ engineering properties of foundation materials has always been arnchallenge for engineers practicing in developing countries. This usually leads to usage ofrnunreliable designing methods. To avoid such problems, this research introduces the use ofrnDynamic Cone Penetration (DCP) which is a simple test device that is inexpensive, portable, andrneasy to operate and understand.rnIn this thesis, field tests were conducted by locally manufactured dynamic cone penetrationrnequipment from available materials. Laboratory tests needed to classify the soil and study thernparameters that affect the dynamic cone penetration index were conducted. After analysing therndata by categorising in to three categories, it has been found out that parameters like unconfinedrncompression strength, liquidity index, depth, natural moisture content and bulk density haverninfluence on the Dynamic Cone Penetration Index (DCPI). Undrained shear strength can bernestimated by UCS=-197ln(DCPI)+735.5 with coefficient of determination (R2) of 71.1% for redrnclay soils of Addis Ababa and by UCS=895.8*DCPI-0.56 with R2 of 52.4%, for clayey soilsrnincluding both red clay and black cotton soils of Addis Ababa combined. These goodrncorrelations were used to develop bearing capacity equation based on bearing capacity theory.rnThe equation found were qult=-506.5ln(DCPI)+ï§h+1891 for red clay soils of Addis Ababa andrnqult=2303.1*DCPI-0.56+ï§h for clayey soils including both red clay and black cotton soils of AddisrnAbaba combined. The results are expected to have wide application in the construction sector.