The effects of the compaction conditions and backfill material behind the face of reinforced soil walls (RSWs) were numerically investigated. The analyses were carried out using a two-dimensional finite-element computer program considering different backfill materials in the zone 1 m behind the wall face and different compaction conditions. The results of the analyses were compared with data from a 16.7 m high well-instrumented, steel-reinforced soil wall constructed in 1999 in the USA. The results illustrate the importance of the compaction conditions and the backfill material near the wall facing on the performance of RSWs both at the end of construction and post-construction.