AbstractBy means of a macroscopic linear model for a poroelastic medium with three deformable components the acoustic behavior of four unconsolidated soil types, filled by water and air, is studied. Necessary material parameters are mainly gathered from the German standard DIN 4220. It provides some useful parameters, as for example, van Genuchten parameters, for thirty‐one different soil types including sands, silts and clays. There appear four body waves: three longitudinal waves and one shear wave. The slowest compressional wave does only exist if at least two pore fluids appear and is driven by the capillary pressure between the pore fluids. The wave analysis yields the dependence of velocities and attenuations of these waves on the saturation and on the frequency. This is compared to the so far most frequently studied case of partially saturated sandstones. (© 2009 Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)