In this paper, the swelling and shrinkage properties of red clay under different temperatures were studied via swelling deformation and shrinkage deformation test with initial moisture content and initial dry density as contrast variables. The influence of temperature on volumetric shrinkage rate, final linear shrinkage rate, and shrinkage coefficient was analyzed. The experimental results revealed that expansion rate increased correspondingly with the rising of initial moisture content; the expansion rate of sample with the highest dry density increased most obviously, while the expansion rate of sample with the lowest dry density decreased with the rising of moisture content.With the climbing of temperature, shrinkage rate presented an overall increasing trend, and in particular, expansion rate surged when temperature exceeded 80 ℃; but volumetric shrinkage rate, linear shrinkage rate and shrinkage coefficient displayed a holistic declining trend. As moisture content declined, the shrinkage curve of red clay can be divided into three stages at different temperatures: oblique straight line, convex, and straight lines, each with different shrinkage velocities and amplitudes.