Construction of a retaining wall using scrap tires and soil is presented in this thesis. The technique was developed as part of a research program at PUC-Rio in collaboration with University of Ottawa and Geo-Rio. The present work consisted of building and analyzing an experimental retaining wall which was constructed in Jacarepaguá, Rio de Janeiro and made of scrap tires and soil. The wall is 60m long and 4 meters high, made of horizontal layers tire, tied with ropes or wires, filled with compacted residual soil. The backfill was 6 meters high using the same residual soil. The wall has four different cross sections which have distinct geometry, tire configurations (cut tires and entire tires) and tire connections.It is also presented a study on the stress strain behavior of the soil tire composite, which shapes the four different cross sections. The numerical results were compared with field measurements in order to obtain the deformation characteristics of backfill. The retaining wall material was considered to exhibit a linear elastic behavior. The construction procedure was numerically simulated in seven increments and allowing variation of modulus of deformation of the wall with the height of the wall. The stress strain behavior of the backfill was simulated with the use of the hiberbolic model.Among the major conclusions it worth mentioning that the use of cut tires facilitates the construction procedure consequently reducing the deformation of the wall. The use of rope to tie the tires, although less efficient than the use of wire, is a better alternative from the cost effectiveness point of view. The use of tires and soil is an attractive alternative to build retaining walls, which associates efficient mechanical performance with low cost, when compared to the conventional methods to stabilize slopes.