Tertiary cationic starch, quaternary cationic starch and cationic starch graft copolymers were each prepared at several levels of cation content. Together with some commercial cationic starches, these materials were assayed by wet sieving to determine their ability to convey water stability to soil. Cations neither increase nor decrease the capacity of starch to stabilize the soil used in this study. Guar, which has excellent stabilizing action (88% soil was retained after wet sieving at treatment level of less than 0.1 g per 100g of soil), behaved similarly: Cation functionality did not influence stabilization. Cationic starch derivatives used as soil stabilizers promised low cost and easy application. However, their low activity, less than onefourth that of synthetics, casts doubt on their use for this purpose.