The undrained behaviour of embankments constructed on soft cohesive deposits is examined for the case where the embankment is reinforced using steel strips. A finite-element analysis that considers plastic failure of the fill and the foundation, pullout of steel strips, and potential yield of the reinforcement is used to demonstrate how steel reinforcement can improve embankment stability. The effect of strip spacing on the mode of failure and embankment stability is examined for a range of soil strength profiles that involve an increase in undrained shear strength with depth. A simple approach for the analysis of steel-reinforced embankments is proposed and illustrated by means of a worked example. A design based on these simple considerations of bearing capacity and limit equilibrium is then checked against the results of a full finite-element analysis of the problem and found to be slightly conservative. Key words : reinforcement, steel strips, finite element, limit equilibrium, soft soil, undrained stability.